Low Fat Diets & Obesity
The introduction of low-fat, high-complex
carbohydrate diets far the prevention and treatment of obesity was based
on the causal link established between dietary fat and body fatness. Observational
and mechanistic studies show that because fat possesses a lower satiating
power than carbohydrate and protein, a diet rich in fat can increase energy
intake. The propensity to gain weight is enhanced in susceptible persons,
particularly sedentary people who have a genetic predisposition to obesity.
Low-fat diets cause weight loss proportional to pre-treatment body weight
in a dose dependent manner; that is, weight loss is correlated positively
to the reduction in dietary fat content. A reduction of 10 percent fat
energy produces an average 5-kg weight loss in obese persons. As with
traditional caloric counting diets, obese persons lose weight only if
they adhere to the prescribed low-fat diet. Failure to achieve a weight
loss and to maintain it may be attributed in part to lack of adherence
to the diet. After a major weight loss, an ad libitum low-fat diet program
appears to be superior to caloric counting in maintaining the weight loss
2 years later. Replacing some fat with protein instead of carbohydrate
may increase the weight loss further. Moreover, fat substitutes may make
it easier to prevent and treat obesity by making the diet palatable. More
randomized, controlled, long-term dietary intervention studies are warranted
to identify the optimal diet composition for the treatment of obesity.
Source: Astrup A, Toubro S, Raben A, Skov
AR. Research-Department of Human Nutrition, RVA University, Frederiksberg,
Denmark. 1997
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