Interesting Study on NPR
radmack
Posts: 272 Member
I found this on the NPR site. I have always sort of blown off the low carb diets, but this seems contradict that.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/09/01/344315405/cutting-back-on-carbs-not-fat-may-lead-to-more-weight-loss
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/09/01/344315405/cutting-back-on-carbs-not-fat-may-lead-to-more-weight-loss
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Replies
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Cutting Back On C̶a̶r̶b̶s̶,̶ ̶N̶o̶t̶ ̶F̶a̶t̶,̶ ̶ Calories May Lead To More Weight Loss.
Fixed it for you.0 -
Cutting Back On C̶a̶r̶b̶s̶,̶ ̶N̶o̶t̶ ̶F̶a̶t̶,̶ ̶ Calories May Lead To More Weight Loss.
Fixed it for you.
^^^^^^THIS!!!!0 -
Thank you for posting the link, very interesting and helpful indeed.0
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I was thinking along the same lines as _Waffle_. As there was no mention of actual calorie counting in the study, just a percentage of calories, one has to wonder how valid it is. Low carb can be a good way to lose weight quickly but in many cases it's just not sustainable long term so you end up regaining. IMHO, it's much better to eat a balance of all foods within a reasonable calorie goal.
P.S. I will say though, eating more protein and healthy fats can actually help folks on a diet as these foods tend to be more filling. If you're going low fat and eating a lot of processed foods, they may not keep you as full as long. That's what I've found anyway...0 -
Hi Radmac-There have been quite a few studies from the Medical & research establishments on this lately, but they seem to be saying what most of us here already know. Refined flours, sugars etc are not the kind of calories your body really needs for day to day living. They tend to be high in calories and low in nutrition, but if you noticed, they also do not suggest we eat the fats in a chocolate chip cookie, but are advocating olive oil, nut butters etc,. Those of us who watch macros along with calories have kind of figured this out by trial and error, but it is nice that the research community is finally catching up. Of course, there are always days when a chocolate chip cookie or two simply MUST fit my calories & macros! :laugh:0
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I was thinking along the same lines as _Waffle_. As there was no mention of actual calorie counting in the study, just a percentage of calories, one has to wonder how valid it is. Low carb can be a good way to lose weight quickly but in many cases it's just not sustainable long term so you end up regaining. IMHO, it's much better to eat a balance of all foods within a reasonable calorie goal.
P.S. I will say though, eating more protein and healthy fats can actually help folks on a diet as these foods tend to be more filling. If you're going low fat and eating a lot of processed foods, they may not keep you as full as long. That's what I've found anyway...
Low carb and other restrictions generally work because they force you to have a lower calorie intake. They work for the exact same reason that a calorie restriction works. In fact there's only one way to lose weight. Calorie restriction. I suppose if skipping all fast food or having no carbs helps then try it out but my main gripe is that these aren't sustainable plans that you can do long term.0 -
Love NPR.
I know for me, cutting carbs definitely accelerates weight loss. Its important though to keep a balance (something like south beach vs Atkins) because its nearly impossible to keep a super low carb diet up for life without yo yoing.
Here's are just a few of MANY scientific studies done in the past 10 years that low carb diets (without reduction of calories) work better:
New England Journal of Medicine:
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa022207
Journal of Pediatrics:
http://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(02)40206-5/abstract
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
http://press.endocrine.org/doi/full/10.1210/jc.2002-021480
Archives of Internal Medicine
http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=217514
Nutrition & Metabolism (London)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC538279/
Journal of the American Dietetic Association
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000282230501151X0 -
I was thinking along the same lines as _Waffle_. As there was no mention of actual calorie counting in the study, just a percentage of calories, one has to wonder how valid it is. Low carb can be a good way to lose weight quickly but in many cases it's just not sustainable long term so you end up regaining. IMHO, it's much better to eat a balance of all foods within a reasonable calorie goal.
P.S. I will say though, eating more protein and healthy fats can actually help folks on a diet as these foods tend to be more filling. If you're going low fat and eating a lot of processed foods, they may not keep you as full as long. That's what I've found anyway...
Low carb and other restrictions generally work because they force you to have a lower calorie intake. They work for the exact same reason that a calorie restriction works. In fact there's only one way to lose weight. Calorie restriction. I suppose if skipping all fast food or having no carbs helps then try it out but my main gripe is that these aren't sustainable plans that you can do long term.
Sorry I respectfully disagree.
JS Volek, et al. Comparison of energy-restricted very low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets on weight loss and body composition in overweight men and women. Nutrition & Metabolism (London), 2004.
Details: A randomized, crossover trial with 28 overweight/obese individuals. Study went on for 30 days (for women) and 50 days (for men) on each diet, that is a very low-carb diet and a low-fat diet. Both diets were calorie restricted.
Weight Loss: The low-carb group lost significantly more weight, especially the men.This was despite the fact that they ended up eating more calories than the low-fat group.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC538279/0 -
There's been some extensive and interesting (IMO) discussion of that NPR-reported study around here lately. The study did not control for calories consumed and indeed it does seem (although it's hard to tell, since the error in self-reported calories is huge) that the low carb people ate less. Also it wasn't actually low carb vs. low fat (although I think low fat diets don't work well, so low fat might have done worse), but low carb vs. a fat level pretty close to what people already had. So in essence it's comparing a diet where people have to pay attention to and change what they are eating to remove some higher calorie, less filling foods to one in which little change was required. Based on that, it's not surprising the first group reported eating fewer calories and lost more weight (although neither lost much weight at all compared to what calorie counting has done for me, and both lost less over time).
I do think that for many people reducing carbs and eating a better balance of fat and protein makes it easier to eat less without thinking much about it--I naturally do when I eat that way, and I don't need to be anywhere near "low carb" to do it, but between 100-150 g or so, which is how I've found I enjoy eating. But this study by no means determines that carbs matter rather than calories or that people in general are better off doing low carb or "carbs make you fat" or any of the inflated claims some have made.0 -
I was thinking along the same lines as _Waffle_. As there was no mention of actual calorie counting in the study, just a percentage of calories, one has to wonder how valid it is. Low carb can be a good way to lose weight quickly but in many cases it's just not sustainable long term so you end up regaining. IMHO, it's much better to eat a balance of all foods within a reasonable calorie goal.
P.S. I will say though, eating more protein and healthy fats can actually help folks on a diet as these foods tend to be more filling. If you're going low fat and eating a lot of processed foods, they may not keep you as full as long. That's what I've found anyway...
Low carb and other restrictions generally work because they force you to have a lower calorie intake. They work for the exact same reason that a calorie restriction works. In fact there's only one way to lose weight. Calorie restriction. I suppose if skipping all fast food or having no carbs helps then try it out but my main gripe is that these aren't sustainable plans that you can do long term.
Sorry I respectfully disagree.
JS Volek, et al. Comparison of energy-restricted very low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets on weight loss and body composition in overweight men and women. Nutrition & Metabolism (London), 2004.
Details: A randomized, crossover trial with 28 overweight/obese individuals. Study went on for 30 days (for women) and 50 days (for men) on each diet, that is a very low-carb diet and a low-fat diet. Both diets were calorie restricted.
Weight Loss: The low-carb group lost significantly more weight, especially the men.This was despite the fact that they ended up eating more calories than the low-fat group.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC538279/
You should read the fine print. It clearly states that:Dietary energy was restricted,
In short it's a calorie restriction that made them lose weight. There is apparently a slight advantage over restricting carbs vs. restricting fat in that you could consume slightly more calories with the low carb and still lose but the work is still done by calorie restriction.0 -
I was thinking along the same lines as _Waffle_. As there was no mention of actual calorie counting in the study, just a percentage of calories, one has to wonder how valid it is. Low carb can be a good way to lose weight quickly but in many cases it's just not sustainable long term so you end up regaining. IMHO, it's much better to eat a balance of all foods within a reasonable calorie goal.
P.S. I will say though, eating more protein and healthy fats can actually help folks on a diet as these foods tend to be more filling. If you're going low fat and eating a lot of processed foods, they may not keep you as full as long. That's what I've found anyway...
Low carb and other restrictions generally work because they force you to have a lower calorie intake. They work for the exact same reason that a calorie restriction works. In fact there's only one way to lose weight. Calorie restriction. I suppose if skipping all fast food or having no carbs helps then try it out but my main gripe is that these aren't sustainable plans that you can do long term.
Sorry I respectfully disagree.
JS Volek, et al. Comparison of energy-restricted very low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets on weight loss and body composition in overweight men and women. Nutrition & Metabolism (London), 2004.
Details: A randomized, crossover trial with 28 overweight/obese individuals. Study went on for 30 days (for women) and 50 days (for men) on each diet, that is a very low-carb diet and a low-fat diet. Both diets were calorie restricted.
Weight Loss: The low-carb group lost significantly more weight, especially the men.This was despite the fact that they ended up eating more calories than the low-fat group.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC538279/
You should read the fine print. It clearly states that:Dietary energy was restricted,
In short it's a calorie restriction that made them lose weight. There is apparently a slight advantage over restricting carbs vs. restricting fat in that you could consume slightly more calories with the low carb and still lose but the work is still done by calorie restriction.
I think you missed the conclusions of the study. "The low-carb group lost significantly more weight, especially the men. This was despite the fact that they ended up eating more calories than the low-fat group."
See also:
Nickols-Richardson SM, et al. Perceived hunger is lower and weight loss is greater in overweight premenopausal women consuming a low-carbohydrate/high-protein vs high-carbohydrate/low-fat diet. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2005.
Details: 28 overweight premenopausal women consumed either a low-carb or a low-fat diet for 6 weeks. The low-fat group was calorie restricted.
Weight Loss: The women in the low-carb group lost 6.4 kg (14.1 lbs) compared to the low-fat group, which lost 4.2 kg (9.3 lbs). The results were statistically significant.
Conclusion: The low-carb diet caused significantly more weight loss and reduced hunger compared to the low-fat diet.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000282230501151X
Volek JS, et al. Carbohydrate restriction has a more favorable impact on the metabolic syndrome than a low fat diet. Lipids, 2009.
Details: 40 subjects with elevated risk factors for cardiovascular disease were randomized to a low-carb or a low-fat diet for 12 weeks. Both groups were calorie restricted.
Weight Loss: The low-carb group lost 10.1 kg (22.3), while the low-fat group lost 5.2 kg (11.5 lbs).
Conclusion: The low-carb group lost almost twice the amount of weight as the low-fat group, despite eating the same amount of calories.
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11745-008-3274-2
http://authoritynutrition.com/23-studies-on-low-carb-and-low-fat-diets/
Guldbrand, et al. In type 2 diabetes, randomization to advice to follow a low-carbohydrate diet transiently improves glycaemic control compared with advice to follow a low-fat diet producing a similar weight loss. Diabetologia, 2012.
Details: 61 individuals with type 2 diabetes were randomized to a low-carb or a low-fat diet for 2 years. Both diets were calorie restricted.
Weight Loss: The low-carb group lost 3.1 kg (6.8 lbs), while the low-fat group lost 3.6 kg (7.9 lbs). The difference was not statistically significant.
Conclusion: There was no difference in weight loss or common risk factors between groups. There was significant improvement in glycemic control at 6 months for the low-carb group, but compliance was poor and the effects diminished at 24 months as individuals had increased their carb intake.
Weight Loss
The majority of studies achieved statistically significant differences in weight loss (always in favor of low-carb). There are several other factors that are worth noting:
The low-carb groups often lost 2-3 times as much weight as the low-fat groups. In a few instances there was no significant difference.
In most cases, calories were restricted in the low-fat groups, while the low-carb groups could eat as much as they wanted.
When both groups restricted calories, the low-carb dieters still lost more weight (7, 13, 19), although it was not always significant (8, 18, 20).
See also Harvard University:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/carbohydrates/low-carbohydrate-diets/0 -
Yes it's low-carb vs low-fat but both are still calorie restricted diets.Dietary energy was restricted, but was slightly higher during the VLCK (1855 kcal/day) compared to the LF (1562 kcal/day) diet for men.
I like bread, pasta, and rice too much to try this out myself.0 -
Yes it's low-carb vs low-fat but both are still calorie restricted diets.Dietary energy was restricted, but was slightly higher during the VLCK (1855 kcal/day) compared to the LF (1562 kcal/day) diet for men.
I like bread, pasta, and rice too much to try this out myself.
I know what you mean. Bread and pasta are my absolute weakness!0 -
I found this on the NPR site. I have always sort of blown off the low carb diets, but this seems contradict that.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/09/01/344315405/cutting-back-on-carbs-not-fat-may-lead-to-more-weight-loss
And I'm not against low carb or anything, either. I was excited to hear the results and bummed it was so flawed.0 -
I found this on the NPR site. I have always sort of blown off the low carb diets, but this seems contradict that.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/09/01/344315405/cutting-back-on-carbs-not-fat-may-lead-to-more-weight-loss
And I'm not against low carb or anything, either. I was excited to hear the results and bummed it was so flawed.
Sadly probably speaks to how few people really stick with any diet for 12 months solid. :P Boo.0 -
Cutting Back On C̶a̶r̶b̶s̶,̶ ̶N̶o̶t̶ ̶F̶a̶t̶,̶ ̶ Calories May Lead To More Weight Loss.
Fixed it for you.
For some people cutting back on Carbs does work. Really Really Really works.
I cannot say that about you and you cannot say that about what works for my body.
Our bodies and our genes are not one size fits all glove Made in China.0 -
Yes it's low-carb vs low-fat but both are still calorie restricted diets.Dietary energy was restricted, but was slightly higher during the VLCK (1855 kcal/day) compared to the LF (1562 kcal/day) diet for men.
I like bread, pasta, and rice too much to try this out myself.
However I'm on this with you.0 -
Cutting Back On C̶a̶r̶b̶s̶,̶ ̶N̶o̶t̶ ̶F̶a̶t̶,̶ ̶ Calories May Lead To More Weight Loss.
Fixed it for you.
That's broscience!0 -
Cutting Back On C̶a̶r̶b̶s̶,̶ ̶N̶o̶t̶ ̶F̶a̶t̶,̶ ̶ Calories May Lead To More Weight Loss.
Fixed it for you.
For some people cutting back on Carbs does work. Really Really Really works.
I cannot say that about you and you cannot say that about what works for my body.
Our bodies and our genes are not one size fits all glove Made in China.
I'm pretty sure science says that he can say that a calorie deficit results in weight loss. That you misinterpret something that *may* lead to a calorie deficit which results in weight loss as being primarily responsible for the weight loss doesn't change this basic truth.
And once adjusted for a margin of error (which is absolutely huge when self-reporting calories), perhaps a little bit for TEF, and a few other confounding factors, I suspect even these low-carb studies that are being touted in this thread will still not invalidate this basic truth.0 -
There have been all sorts of studies but for a "normal" person it all comes down to "eat less, and exercise."
Now if you're abby normal (like me) then your body converts carbs into triglycerides preferentially and that causes other problems. So avoiding carbs makes sense.
I'm sure for other folks avoiding fats is the way to go.
Bottom line is that it's different for everybody and you have to experiment for weeks and keep adapting to get the weight off and keep it off.
That's my $0.02 worth....0 -
Low carbs make me irritable. I like a balanced diet.0
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Cutting Back On C̶a̶r̶b̶s̶,̶ ̶N̶o̶t̶ ̶F̶a̶t̶,̶ ̶ Calories May Lead To More Weight Loss.
Fixed it for you.
For some people cutting back on Carbs does work. Really Really Really works.
I cannot say that about you and you cannot say that about what works for my body.
Our bodies and our genes are not one size fits all glove Made in China.
I'm pretty sure science says that he can say that a calorie deficit results in weight loss. That you misinterpret something that *may* lead to a calorie deficit which results in weight loss as being primarily responsible for the weight loss doesn't change this basic truth.
And once adjusted for a margin of error (which is absolutely huge when self-reporting calories), perhaps a little bit for TEF, and a few other confounding factors, I suspect even these low-carb studies that are being touted in this thread will still not invalidate this basic truth.
I understand your points I think. Yes definitely eating lower calories is a way to lose weight
But are you saying that self reported studies are essentially useless? There's not really another realistic way to do a large scale human study of anything diet related is there? Unless the participants are living in a laboratory or have someone monitoring them 24/7? My understanding is that any study has a margin of error. This is why multiple studies are done by different organizations around the world. The sum of multiple studies surely has a lower margin of error than a single study right?
I'm just confused by the calorie/carb dabate. Its hard to imagine someone on an Atkins diet consisting of full fat cheese,bacon, heavy whipping cream, steaks, eggs and sausage (high calorie and high fat foods) who has no restrictions on the volume of food they can consume in many of these studies would be eating the same number of calories as the dieters who are consuming fruit, veggies, lean meats and fish and set to a calorie limit?
What would motivate the low carb eaters to report less calories/food than they actually consumed in the studies that didn't limit them on calorie intake? There would be no incentive to report less if they are not restricted. (Obviously forgetting to track, or making a calculated guess when recording meals is a margin of error).
What is TEF? I googled and I can't seem to find it. I love learning new things from others. Could you please tell me what it stands for?0 -
Cutting Back On C̶a̶r̶b̶s̶,̶ ̶N̶o̶t̶ ̶F̶a̶t̶,̶ ̶ Calories May Lead To More Weight Loss.
Fixed it for you.
For some people cutting back on Carbs does work. Really Really Really works.
I cannot say that about you and you cannot say that about what works for my body.
Our bodies and our genes are not one size fits all glove Made in China.
I'm pretty sure science says that he can say that a calorie deficit results in weight loss. That you misinterpret something that *may* lead to a calorie deficit which results in weight loss as being primarily responsible for the weight loss doesn't change this basic truth.
And once adjusted for a margin of error (which is absolutely huge when self-reporting calories), perhaps a little bit for TEF, and a few other confounding factors, I suspect even these low-carb studies that are being touted in this thread will still not invalidate this basic truth.
So are you saying that what I found out and understood what works for my body is wrong?
If so we don't seem to be brother and sister neither did mom mention my brother was lost in fair.
Again what fits your does not fit my body genetically. Nor we do not have same genes. Shape of your nose is nowhere close to mine.
/end of thread.0 -
I'm just confused by the calorie/carb dabate. Its hard to imagine someone on an Atkins diet consisting of full fat cheese,bacon, heavy whipping cream, steaks, eggs and sausage (high calorie and high fat foods) who has no restrictions on the volume of food they can consume in many of these studies would be eating the same number of calories as the dieters who are consuming fruit, veggies, lean meats and fish and set to a calorie limit?
In this particular study, they focused on eating healthy fats, I believe mostly plant based. They definitely were not eating bacon, sausage, heavy whipping creams etc. Though it did mention that they ate eggs.0 -
Cutting Back On C̶a̶r̶b̶s̶,̶ ̶N̶o̶t̶ ̶F̶a̶t̶,̶ ̶ Calories May Lead To More Weight Loss.
Fixed it for you.
That's broscience!
The citations listed were hardly broscience.
Not trying to change any minds, just thought it was interesting. I had to have emergency gall bladder and my appetite is still way low, so I have been trying to read up on nutrition more than I have in the past.0 -
Cutting Back On C̶a̶r̶b̶s̶,̶ ̶N̶o̶t̶ ̶F̶a̶t̶,̶ ̶ Calories May Lead To More Weight Loss.
Fixed it for you.
For some people cutting back on Carbs does work. Really Really Really works.
I cannot say that about you and you cannot say that about what works for my body.
Our bodies and our genes are not one size fits all glove Made in China.
But...if you cut back on carbs you cut back on calories so....how does this make one a special snowflake again?0 -
I'm just confused by the calorie/carb dabate. Its hard to imagine someone on an Atkins diet consisting of full fat cheese,bacon, heavy whipping cream, steaks, eggs and sausage (high calorie and high fat foods) who has no restrictions on the volume of food they can consume in many of these studies would be eating the same number of calories as the dieters who are consuming fruit, veggies, lean meats and fish and set to a calorie limit?
In this particular study, they focused on eating healthy fats, I believe mostly plant based. They definitely were not eating bacon, sausage, heavy whipping creams etc. Though it did mention that they ate eggs.
I totally understand. I think the NPR study has a lot of value.
My comment about the bacon and such was referencing some of the other citations I gave. Other studies, where the participants were doing low carb diets such as Atkins, The Zone etc during the study and were allowed to eat anything they wanted in any volume, as long as it was low in carbs. I'm confused why people conclude: "low carb diets must be restricting their calories." as the reason for the weight loss. Because its just hard for me to imagine it wouldn't be higher in calories automatically given the foods that are encouraged. The study data even shows more calories were consumed. It seems more logical to conclude that its possible to have a high calorie, low carb diet that still causes weight loss.
I definitely agree though that a balanced diet is best for long term success. Its too hard to restrict a diet too far one direction or the other...it is not sustainable.0 -
Cutting Back On C̶a̶r̶b̶s̶,̶ ̶N̶o̶t̶ ̶F̶a̶t̶,̶ ̶ Calories May Lead To More Weight Loss.
Fixed it for you.
For some people cutting back on Carbs does work. Really Really Really works.
I cannot say that about you and you cannot say that about what works for my body.
Our bodies and our genes are not one size fits all glove Made in China.
I'm pretty sure science says that he can say that a calorie deficit results in weight loss. That you misinterpret something that *may* lead to a calorie deficit which results in weight loss as being primarily responsible for the weight loss doesn't change this basic truth.
And once adjusted for a margin of error (which is absolutely huge when self-reporting calories), perhaps a little bit for TEF, and a few other confounding factors, I suspect even these low-carb studies that are being touted in this thread will still not invalidate this basic truth.
So are you saying that what I found out and understood what works for my body is wrong?
If so we don't seem to be brother and sister neither did mom mention my brother was lost in fair.
Again what fits your does not fit my body genetically. Nor we do not have same genes. Shape of your nose is nowhere close to mine.
/end of thread.
Mentally, it might be a better approach for you but that does not mean that your body handles the different macro nutrients any differently than any other metabolically healthy individual.0 -
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There are quite a few issues with drawing conclusions from the study referred to in the article. One large one being, protein was not kept constant. Also, the difference in FFM loss was not that large over 12 months.
Rather than boxing people into a 'low' this or that, one of the things that is a very common theme - adherence and sustainability will be the primary driver for success.0
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