Study: Weight Loss, Carbs May Mix

(CBS/AP)  Older women who ate less fat and more carbohydrates lost about 2 pounds over seven years, a large study showed.

While one obesity expert called the results disappointing, the lead author of the research said it refutes claims by promoters of the low-carb Atkins and Zone diets that low-fat diets are partly behind America's obesity epidemic.

"It will help people to understand that the weight gain we're seeing in this country is not caused by the lower-fat diets," said study author Barbara V. Howard of MedStar Research Institute, a nonprofit research group.

The findings "counter" those who tout eating a low-carb, high-fat diet to lose weight,"

observes

The Early Show medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay.

The key, Senay says, is eating the right carbs as you try to trim your waistline, not staying away from carbs.

However, the skimpy weight loss after seven years won't satisfy people looking for a cure for obesity, said Dr. Michael Dansinger, an obesity researcher at Tufts-New England Medical Center who was not involved in the study.

"This is like losing the Super Bowl but claiming a second place victory," Dansinger said. "The results are disappointing in the context of a country trying to battle obesity."

The study, appearing in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, included more than 48,000 women, ages 50 to 79. They were followed for an average of seven years and six months.

One group of women lowered the fat in their diets while increasing fruits, vegetables and whole grains. The other group didn't change their diets significantly.

The target fat content of the diet was 20 percent, but the women on the diet actually got about 30 percent of their calories in fat; their previous fat intake was about 39 percent.

The women on the diet increased their carb calories from 44 percent to 53 percent, while the women not on the diet stayed at about 44 percent carbs.

The low-fat group lost, on average, 4.8 pounds in the first year, then regained most of that weight. The non-diet group stayed at about the same weight over the seven years.

The study, Senay says, shows that eating the right kind of carbohydrates doesn't have to make you gain weight, it won't interfere with you losing weight, and it's important to know the difference between "good carbohydrates" and "bad" ones as you try to lose weight.

• 1
• 2
• Next Page »