Once again, the evidence shows dieting success depends on counting calories.

If wishing could make it true, that low-carb, eat-all-the-bacon- you-want diet would work. Or the Diet of 1,000 Smoothies. Etc., etc. But in what is being called the most rigorous and far-reaching study of various schemes, scientists have found -- once again -- that dieting success depends on simply consuming fewer calories. As explained in the Los Angeles Times, the findings tell us "any diet that is low in calories and saturated fats and high in whole grains, fruits and vegetables -- and that an individual can stick with for a lifetime -- is a reasonable choice for people who need to lose weight."

Comparison of Weight-Loss Diets with Different Compositions of Fat, Protein, and Carbohydrates was published this week in the online New England Journal of Medicine. Time quoted the lead author, Dr. Frank Sacks, hitting the nail squarely on the head: "'We have a really simple and practical message for people: it's not so much the type of diet you eat,' says Sacks. 'It's how much you put in your mouth.'" (Weren't we all secretly hoping for a different conclusion?)

I love transparency. As research abstracts go, this one is written in relatively plain English. Under Background, they simply say that "The possible advantage for weight loss of a diet that emphasizes protein, fat, or carbohydrates has not been established, and there are few studies that extend beyond 1 year." The Methods section isn't horribly obscure, telling us they randomly assigned 811 overweight adults to one of four diets that meet guidelines for cardiovascular health. And the conclusion says only that "Reduced-calorie diets result in clinically meaningful weight loss regardless of which macronutrients they emphasize." The abstract also clearly identifies the study's registration with ClinicalTrials.gov, where NIH-funded research is identified *before* the results are in -- one (long overdue) way of keeping people honest.

The Biggest Loser is on to something. Included in the results is a finding that "Satiety, hunger, satisfaction with the diet, and attendance at group sessions were similar for all diets...." But Weight Watchers and reality TV appear to have gotten it right by getting people together: The research showed that "...attendance was strongly associated with weight loss (0.2 kg per session attended)."

On this story, journalists did a reasonable job of bringing the evidence to the people. In What's the best diet? Eating less food, Time magazine online presented some research details without going overboard. Ditto for the Los Angeles Times. And both publications actually told us where we could find the published study (NEJM, beginning Feb 26).

Comments

[Todd29]

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