Very low-carbohydrate diets work for men and upper body fat


The actual article is at:
http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/1/1/12


Public release date: 12-Nov-2004

Contact: Grace Baynes

44-207-631-9988
BioMed Central

Very low-carbohydrate diets work for men and upper body fat


Scientists say that low carbohydrate diets, like the Atkins and South
Beach Diets, may actually be the best option for men who want to slim.
New research, published this week in the Open Access journal, Nutrition
& Metabolism, shows that over 70% of men lost more weight and fat on a
low carbohydrate diet, despite eating more calories.

Jeff Volek and colleagues, from the University of Connecticut, also show
for the first time that a low carbohydrate diet is much more effective
in losing fat from the stomach and chest. Upper body fat carries "a
greater health risk than fat stored in other regions of the body," say
the authors. They found that fat loss in men was three-times greater in
the trunk area, when they were on a low-carbohydrate regime compared to
the low-fat diet. Nearly all participants in the study (12 of 15 men and
12 of 13 women) lost more fat on their upper body on the low-
carbohydrate diet.

Fifteen overweight or obese men, and thirteen women, were randomly
assigned to a very low carbohydrate diet or a low fat diet. After fifty
days, they were switched to the other diet. 11 of the 15 men did better
on the low carbohydrate diet, six lost greater than 10 lbs more on the
low carbohydrate diet, and one subject lost almost 25 pounds more.
Similar results were found for women although the results were less
dramatic.

Volek and colleagues also looked at whether weight and fat loss were
affected by what order the diets were done in. Their data seem to favour
undertaking a low carbohydrate first, suggesting that those who have
concerns about long term 'low carb' diets could follow a low carb diet
first followed by a low fat diet.

There is much debate about the health implications of long-term use of
low carbohydrate diets. Volek's lab, whose work is the first-ever to be
funded in part by the Robert C. Atkins Foundation, has previously shown
that low carbohydrate diets improve cardiovascular risk factors.

For more information about low carbohydrate diets read the review by
well-known endocrinologist, Samy McFarlane, in Nutrition & Metabolism.
Dr McFarlane reviews the new book, 'Atkins Diabetes Revolution', by Mary
C. Vernon, M.D. and Jacqueline A. Eberstein, R.N. McFarlane and
co-reviewer Surender Arora, M.D. found the book "sufficiently convincing
to make us believe that some form of low carbohydrate intervention is
worth investigating and should be considered by practitioners. The
highly negative un-scientific response of critics, if anything,
encourages us in this direction."

This press release is based on:

Comparison of energy-restricted very low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets
on weight loss and body composition in overweight men and women Volek
JS, Sharman MJ, Gómez AL, Judelson DA, Rubin MR, Watson G, Sokmen B,
Silvestre R, French DN, and Kraemer WJ. Nutrition & Metabolism 2004,
1:12 (9 November 2004)

The article is freely available at
http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/1/1/12.

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