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Weight loss with a low-carbohydrate, mediterranean, or low-fat diet

Shai, Iris; Schwarzfuchs, Dan; Henkin, Yaakov; Shahar, Danit R.; Witkow, Shula; Greenberg, Rana; Golan, Rachel; Fraser, Drora; Bolotin, Arkady; Vardi, Hilel; Tangi-Rozental, Osnat; Zuk-Ramot, Rachel; Sarusi, Benjamin; Brickner, Dov; Schwartz, Ziva; Sheiner, Einat; Marko, Rachel; Katorza, Esther; Thiery, Joachim; Fiedler, Georg Martin; Blüher, Matthias; Stumvoll, Michael; Stampfer, Meir J.

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2008

10.1097/01.ogx.0000334740.32446.f3

ISBN: 1533-4406 (Electronic)$\backslash$r0028-4793 (Linking) _eprint: NIHMS150003 PMID: 18635428

Abstract:

Background Trials comparing the effectiveness and safety of weight-loss diets are frequently limited by short follow-up times and high dropout rates. Methods In this 2-year trial, we randomly assigned 322 moderately obese subjects (mean age, 52 years; mean body-mass index [the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters], 31; male sex, 86%) to one of three diets: low-fat, restricted-calorie; Mediterranean, restricted-calorie; or low-carbohydrate, non–restricted-calorie. Results The rate of adherence to a study diet was 95.4% at 1 year and 84.6% at 2 years. The Mediterranean-diet group consumed the largest amounts of dietary fiber and had the highest ratio of monounsaturated to saturated fat (P\textless0.05 for all comparisons among treatment groups). The low-carbohydrate group consumed the smallest amount of carbohydrates and the largest amounts of fat, protein, and cholesterol and had the highest percentage of participants with detectable urinary ketones (P\textless0.05 for all comparisons among tr...