http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm...ceanddiscovery

Diet doubts over counting calories

Counting calories may not be the best way to lose weight, researchers
have claimed.

A six-month study in America has found some calories cause people to
put on more weight than others.

The survey of 65 overweight and obese adults - 70% of whom had type 2
diabetes - found that those put on a moderate fat diet containing
almonds lost more weight than those on a low-fat diet without almonds.

But the total number of calories for both groups was the same.

And other factors such as protein intake were also maintained at equal
levels.

The waistline measurements of those on the moderate fat diet with
almonds fell by 14%, compared with 9% for the other group.

Fat mass figures also fell by 10% more in the group on the almond
diet.

The results - published in the International Journal of Obesity - cast
doubt on widely held beliefs about dieting.

It has long been assumed that a key to losing weight is cutting
calorie intake.

The study's lead researcher Dr Michelle Wien, from City of Hope
National Medical Centre in Duarte, California, said: "There may be
qualities in almonds that helped the first group lose more weight."

One possible explanation was that the fat in almonds may not have been
completely absorbed.


Story filed: 18:12 Thursday 6th November 2003