Low Fat Diets Don't Cause Weight Gain

The Low Fat vs. Low Carb debate continues with a report in the January 4th, 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. A study of 48,000 post-menopausal women, in which one group ate a low fat, high carb diet, showed that those assigned the low fat diet lost about two pounds over the course of seven and a half years. For some, this is disappointing. For others, it’s proof that a low fat diet is suitable for weight maintenance, and moderate weight loss, at a time of life when many of us seem to pack on the pounds more easily.

The low fat naysayers claim that such negligible weight loss is evidence that a low fat diet is not the way to combat obesity. Yet the study shows that a low fat diet doesn’t cause obesity, either, as some have claimed—although I’m the first to admit that simply replacing fat with sugar is hardly a recipe for dietary success.

By itself, a low fat diet is unlikely to produce drastic, sustainable weight loss. Low fat is not synonymous with low calorie. We need to limit our portion sizes, and switch from simple carbohydrates to complex carbohydrates—ie, eat whole grains rather than the white stuff. We also need to become more physically active, especially as our metabolism slows down as we age. This doesn’t necessarily mean joining a gym, but taking a brisk two or three mile walk every day would be a good start.

Finally, weight loss wasn’t even at the heart of this particular study. Researchers were examining the effects of a low fat diet on heart disease and cancer. Those results will be available later this year.