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Atkins Attack
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,109890,00.html
Atkins Attack By Steven Milloy Already-confused dieters are no doubt reeling from reports this week of a new study linking a high-carbohydrate diet with weight loss. Rather than well-conducted scientific research, though, the new study appears to be merely a junk science-fueled attack by government nannies on politically incorrect low-carbohydrate regimens like the Atkins Diet (search). "In the midst of the low-carb craze, a new study suggests that by eating lots of carbohydrates and little fat, it is possible to lose weight without actually cutting calories - and without exercising, either," reported The Associated Press this week. "Revenge of the High-Carb Diet - Ha! It Works, Too" was the Reuters headline. But unlike the sensationalistic media, which tend to limit their reporting of new study claims to regurgitated press releases and sound bites from study authors, I actually read the study in the Jan. 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. It didn't take long to discover why study subjects on the high-carbohydrate diet lost weight - they ate fewer calories! The researchers divided the 34 study subjects into three groups: a control group of 12 individuals who consumed a low-carbohydrate diet (search); a group of 11 individuals who consumed a high-carbohydrate diet; and a group of 11 individuals who consumed a high-carbohydrate diet and did aerobic exercise. Study subjects were provided with foods constituting 150 percent of their required daily caloric intake and instructed to eat as much as they wanted. Carbohydrates constituted 45 percent of the control groups' calories and about 62 percent for the high-carbohydrate groups. After 12 weeks, the study subjects on the control diet weighed the same as when the study started. But study subjects on the high-carbohydrate diet lost weight: about five pounds on average for those in the high-carbohydrate-only group and about 10 pounds for those in the high-carbohydrate-plus-exercise group. To the study authors and media, these superficial "results" apparently prove that you can lose weight while eating as many carbohydrates as you like - and you don't even have to exercise. It might be a couch potato's fantasy come true - except that the study details tell a different story. As it turns out, study subjects in the high-carbohydrate groups consumed about 400-600 calories less per day than those in the control group. Over the 12-week period of the study, then, the average study subject in the high-carbohydrate group consumed about 42,000 calories less than the average study subject in the control group. Since a pound of fat represents about 3,500 calories, it's no wonder why those in the high-carbohydrate group lost weight. It was because they ate less, not because of any magical effects of a high-carbohydrate diet. Although the media's apparent lack of interest in examining the actual study data is disappointing, the inaccurate description of the study to the media by lead author William J. Evans of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is even more dismaying. He told Reuters that the study subjects ate "around 2,500 calories per day," thereby implying that the only difference in their diets was the amount of carbohydrates. That's just plain misleading. Control group subjects averaged 2,825 calories per day during the 12-week study; high-carbohydrate group subjects averaged 2250 calories per day and high-carbohydrate-plus-exercise subjects averaged 2,413 calories. Such variation over 12 weeks adds up to significant differences in total caloric intake and is most likely what produced the observed weight loss in the high-carbohydrate groups. The study authors then had the audacity to slam low-carbohydrate diets, such as the Atkins diet, as a means to lose weight. "Little evidence exists to support this idea," wrote the study authors. But it appears that there's not even that much evidence in favor of their all-the-carbs-you-can-eat idea. It's no secret that nutrition nannies in the federal government oppose high-protein/low-carbohydrate diets like the Atkins plan ― not because such diets don't work but because their fat-is-OK approach contradicts the nannies' low-fat dietary prescriptions of the last 30 years. (The irony of course is that obesity has supposedly skyrocketed while America went low-fat.) Evans and his group, not surprisingly, were funded by the National Institutes of Health, a government group that claims in bold-face on its Web site that "[High-protein/low-carb diets are] not a healthy way to lose weight!" That may or may not be true. Much more research is needed. Hopefully that research won't be conducted by biased, government-funded research hacks. Steven Milloy is the publisher of JunkScience.com, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute and the author of Junk Science Judo: Self-Defense Against Health Scares and Scams (Cato Institute, 2001). |
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Atkins Attack
Diarmid Logan wrote:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,109890,00.html Atkins Attack By Steven Milloy Already-confused dieters are no doubt reeling from reports this week of a new study linking a high-carbohydrate diet with weight loss. Wonder which bread company sponsored that one.. LOL BJ |
#3
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Atkins Attack
"BJ in Texas" wrote in message . com...
Diarmid Logan wrote: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,109890,00.html Atkins Attack By Steven Milloy Already-confused dieters are no doubt reeling from reports this week of a new study linking a high-carbohydrate diet with weight loss. Wonder which bread company sponsored that one.. LOL BJ The author of the study published a book on last May. I guess he wanted to take atkins off the bestseller list and see if his book would replace it. *** William J. Evans, PhD: AstroFit: The Astronaut Program for Anti-Aging by William J. Evans (Author), Gerald Secor Couzens (Author) Paperback: 320 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.81 x 8.42 x 5.53 Publisher: Free Press; (May 13, 2003) ISBN: 0743216822 William J. Evans, Ph.D., a pioneer in the field of age reversal for more than twenty years, has worked as an expert adviser to NASA on nutrition and exercise since 1988, and is the former head of the Nutrition, Physical Fitness, and Rapid Rehabilitation Team of the National Space Biomedical Institution. He lives in Little Rock, Arkansas, with his wife and three children. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. **** Here is an excerpt from the study abstract: *** From the Nutrition, Metabolism, and Exercise Laboratory, Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, Little Rock. Dr Starling is now with Pfizer Global Research and Development, Groton, Conn. The authors have no relevant financial interest in this article. *** No relevant financial interest..... Yeah right. TC |
#4
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Atkins Attack
LC = lose weight ,feel good and happy
LF = lose weight (maybe), feel hungry, tired and bitchy, not happy You choose. "Doug Freyburger" wrote in message om... Diarmid Logan wrote: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,109890,00.html Atkins Attack By Steven Milloy Already-confused dieters are no doubt reeling from reports this week of a new study linking a high-carbohydrate diet with weight loss. So they found folks that low fat works for. Big deal. Low fat works for plenty of people. Who denies that? But studies that compare LF and LC show that LC works even better than LF. |
#5
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Atkins Attack
This article also shows how poor our math skills are as a nation.
Carbohydrates constituted 45 percent of the control groups' calories (low carb) That means of the 2,825 calories the "low" carbers ate, 1271.25 calories came from carbs. That's 317 CARB GRAMS PER DAY. While that is lower than USDA recommended (60% of calories) it has nothing to do with Atkins. DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email) |
#6
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Atkins Attack
Diarmid Logan wrote:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,109890,00.html Atkins Attack By Steven Milloy Already-confused dieters are no doubt reeling from reports this week of a new study linking a high-carbohydrate diet with weight loss. So they found folks that low fat works for. Big deal. Low fat works for plenty of people. Who denies that? But studies that compare LF and LC show that LC works even better than LF. |
#7
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Atkins Attack
I've lost nearly 90 lbs. in one year by eating on the high-carb side and
usually low-fat. And I'm not unhappy or grumpy or tired. In fact, I have more energy than ever. I'm sure low-carb works, too, and I have nothing against it. Just do what works for you. Cat |
#8
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Atkins Attack
Same here. Started in the 205-210 range, currently maintaining in the
130 range (128 last I checked). I tend toward high fiber / high carb in the percentages. I think that what works for you is individual. For me, as an individual, this worked fine. I am happy and energetic. Cat wrote: I've lost nearly 90 lbs. in one year by eating on the high-carb side and usually low-fat. And I'm not unhappy or grumpy or tired. In fact, I have more energy than ever. I'm sure low-carb works, too, and I have nothing against it. Just do what works for you. Cat -- jmk in NC |
#9
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Atkins Attack
On Fri, 30 Jan 2004 23:21:45 GMT, "Ear Rings" wrote:
LC = lose weight ,feel good and happy LF = lose weight (maybe), feel hungry, tired and bitchy, not happy You choose. This isn't the same for everybody. I can do low-fat. Nobody would want to be in the same room with me if I did low carb. You think low fat is bitchy, then you haven't seen me with no sugar. I know that low carb works for a lot of people, but I would be doomed to cheat every day because there is no way I can change my diet that much and actually stay on it. If I am short on sleep, then my coworkers will appreciate me eating some chocolate, ir not to get me moving a bit faster, than as an attitude adjustment. If that means I need to lower my calories elsewhere to take care of that, then so be it. As it is, I don't eat many fruits or veggies, and the ones I like are the ones that have more carbs. I am geared for sweet, and I avoid most things that aren't. It is wonderful that we have more than one "diet" or WOE to choose from since not everybody will be able to do well on the same one. I'm not going to berate somebody for doing a diet I don't care for. My best friend at work was doing the Atkins and lost quite a bit. I encouraged her on her diet as she encouraged me on mine. Totally different diets, and both of us losing weight. Meghan & the Zoo Crew Equine and Pet Photography http://www.zoocrewphoto.com |
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