Weight Loss with a Low-Carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or Low-Fat Diet

This 2-year trial, which took place in an isolated workplace that facilitated retention in the study, randomly assigned 322 moderately obese subjects to one of three diets: a low-fat, restricted-calorie diet; a Mediterranean, restricted-calorie diet; or a low-carbohydrate, non–restricted-calorie diet. The results suggest that the Mediterranean and low-carbohydrate diets are effective alternatives to low-fat diets and that personal preferences and metabolic considerations might inform individualized tailoring of dietary interventions. This study suggests that Mediterranean and low-carbohydrate diets are effective alternatives to low-fat diets and that personal preferences and metabolic considerations might inform individualized tailoring of dietary interventions. The dramatic increase in obesity worldwide remains challenging and underscores the urgent need to test the effectiveness and safety of several widely used weight-loss diets. 1 – 3 Low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fat diets (referred to as low-carbohydrate diets) have been compared with low-fat, energy-restricted diets. 4 – 9 A meta-analysis of five trials with 447 participants 10 and a recent 1-year trial involving 311 obese women 4 suggested that a low-carbohydrate diet is a feasible alternative to a low-fat diet for producing weight loss and may have favorable metabolic effects. However, longer-term studies are lacking. 4 , 10 A Mediterranean diet with a moderate amount of fat and a . . .