50% Calorie reduction study - overweight men

yarwell
yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
in Food and Nutrition
http://www.ajcn.org/content/53/2/430.full.pdf

Too few subjects for much statistical significance.

28 days at half their baseline energy intake. 4 men on "Low fat" diet (14% protein, 20% fat calories) and 4 on "high fat" (14% protein, 40% fat). Both are high carbohydrate diets.

Lost 4kg of fat and 1 kg of fat free mass (water, lean tissue, etc). Energy balance says over 95% of energy loss was fat.

Food intake per day below sleeping energy expenditure equivalent per day ie less than RMR. RMR fell ~10% during dieting.

Discuss :-)

Replies

  • wackyfunster
    wackyfunster Posts: 944 Member
    Buh Buh Buh starvation mode! Hoax! Impossible! My body is different and uses magic to ignore the laws of thermodynamics!

    Just figured I'd get that out of the way for you :)
  • frillypantz
    frillypantz Posts: 134
    aaaaaaaaaaa... too many numbers.... brain. cant. process.
  • Lolli1986
    Lolli1986 Posts: 500 Member
    (oh my... health sciences papers are so painful.)

    quick skim and i'm a bit confused by why I am seeing this study beside your avatar?

    "Suggested explanations for the inability of certain individuals to either lose fat or maintain fat loss usually include low metabolic rates and greater efficiency of use of diet energy. Obese or postobese individuals may have lower metabolic rates than their lean counterparts (3-5). A lowered metabolic rate would result in lower maintenance energy requirements and an apparent increase in the efficiency of energy use. This would contribute to an ease of weight gain or resistance to slimming."

    Then you say that they go on to find a decreased RMR, which sort of almost theoretically supports the above. (correct me if i'm wrong, but i thought the above basically summarises 'starvation mode', or at least one of the more popular uses of the term).

    However, of course, it doesn't actually support the above because they didn't compare any form of rate of regain against gain in a control group that had never been obese. So many issues with studying humans...

    I personally have no attachment to 'starvation mode' at all, I'm just confused as to why I see a study that somewhat sort of maybe supports one of the many varied popular definitions of 'starvation mode' sitting beside a statement saying the concept is bollocks?
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    i'm a bit confused by why I am seeing this study beside your avatar?

    There need be no connection.

    However the subjects lost fat (and mainly fat) despite eating half their maintenance calories, and less than their RMR.

    So there was no "body holding on to all the fat" or other bollocks speak popularly held to be "starvation mode".

    Let's face it, there's no study showing that you can't lose weight if you reduce calories enough, is there ?

    Sure, there's a metabolic reduction of a few percent, but that's no deal breaker.
  • smallerman
    smallerman Posts: 25 Member
    If you survived a plane crash on a desert island where you could only scrape together enough calories for less than your RMR and you were rescued a few months later, would you have lost weight? Darn right!

    I believe we under-report intake, either by poorly guessing portion sizes or labels being incorrect. many websites over-estimate calorie expenditure as well. Enough of these type mistakes and we think we've discovered a new energy source or a perpetual motion machine!
  • roachhaley
    roachhaley Posts: 978 Member
    DEFYING THE LAW OF CONSERVATION OF MASS? SOUNDS LEGIT.
  • Lolli1986
    Lolli1986 Posts: 500 Member
    i'm a bit confused by why I am seeing this study beside your avatar?

    There need be no connection.

    However the subjects lost fat (and mainly fat) despite eating half their maintenance calories, and less than their RMR.

    So there was no "body holding on to all the fat" or other bollocks speak popularly held to be "starvation mode".

    Let's face it, there's no study showing that you can't lose weight if you reduce calories enough, is there ?

    Sure, there's a metabolic reduction of a few percent, but that's no deal breaker.

    Okay, so it provides evidence against the other totally weird "if i drop below bmr i'll hold all the fat" version of 'starvation mode'... gotcha. That one's just...i don't even...

    Now I understand, at least. Thanks for responding.

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