Low Fat or Low Carb: How to Really Lose Weight

It has been widely debated which between low-fat and low-carbohydrates diet is more effective in weight loss. But with no basis to evaluate which one is better, the question remains until this week. A new study may have the answer now, according to Medical News Today (MNT).

The study published at Cell Metabolism revealed that dietary fat restriction results to more body fat loss than a carbohydrate-restricted diet. It also highlighted that cutting carbohydrates increased net fat oxidation, but, in contrast to popular beliefs, did not cause greater body fat loss.

"I wanted to rigorously test the theory that carbohydrate restriction is particularly effective for losing body fat since this idea has been influencing many people's decisions about their diets," Kevin Hall, the study's lead researcher who is also a metabolism researcher at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), told MNT.

In order to evaluate which will lead to a greater weight loss, the researchers assessed 19 obese adults who were confined in a ward for two 2-week periods, ensuring that participants will stick to the prescribed meal plans.

In the first period, the researchers initiated a carbohydrate restricted diet with fat intake remaining the same. The experiment saw a 30 percent reduction of the participants' baseline calories through the said method.

Meanwhile, during the second period, the researchers also observed a 30 percent decrease in baseline calories but this time through restricting fat intake while carbohydrate intake was not changed.

Body fat loss was computed by calculating the difference between daily fat intake and net fat oxidation while participants were inside a metabolic chamber.

The results of the study reveal that although more fats were burned during a low-carbohydrate diet, it does not result to more fats being shredded.

Additionally, through a mathematical modeling simulation, the researchers theorized that a low-carbohydrate diet would lead to changes in the amount of body fat burned but it is still a low-fat diet that will result to greater fat loss.

As cited by MNT, the researchers acknowledged that the experimental study is limited given its small number of participants and short duration. They also emphasized that the study was unable to address whether it would be easier to follow a low-carb or a low-fat diet given that strict control of food intake is unrealistic especially in real-life situations were following a strict diet is tricky.

"We are trying to do very careful studies in humans to better understand the underlying physiology that will one day be able to help generate better recommendations about day-to-day dieting. But there is currently a gap between our understanding of the physiology and our ability to make effective diet recommendations for lasting weight loss," Hall told MNT.