Further evidence supporting the Atkins diet has emerged from a randomised trial in overweight and obese American women. Women following the Atkins diet for 12 months lost more weight than women following three other popular diets. Their lipid profiles and other cardiovascular risk factors got no worse, and their systolic blood pressure came down significantly during the year. The other three diets—known as the Zone, the LEARN (lifestyle, exercise, attitudes, relationships, and nutrition), and the Ornish diets—worked about as well as each other. Women on these diets lost 1.6-2.6 kg on average compared with 4.7 kg for women on the Atkins diet. The difference between Atkins and the others was significant after only two months and peaked at six months (P<0.05 for all comparisons).
The researchers chose these diets because they form a continuum of weight loss strategies, with the Atkins diet (low in carbohydrate and high in fats and protein) at one end and the Ornish diet (very high in carbohydrate and very low in fat) at the other. Neither diet restricts calories.
These findings should reassure women that the Atkins diet is unlikely to harm their health in the short term, say the authors. But don't expect dramatic results. The women in this trial lost only 5% of their body weight.
References
- 2007.