The best diet for keeping weight off has now been confirmed. Researchers from Boston Children’s Hospital, led by Cara Ebbeling, recently conducted studies on three different diets – low fat, low-carb and low-glycemic index. The research collected compared the different diets and the effect these diets have on the body’s energy use. The study included 21 obese adults who followed a three month diet plan. All were between the ages of 18-40 and had lost between 10% -15% of their body weight in the past few months. The research also measured the effects of these diets on the bodies of volunteers. The effects included measures of heart health, diabetes risk, hormones, enzymes, insulin sensitivity and blood fats.

The Low-Fat Diet
This diet reduced the intake of oils, nuts and high-fat products including fatty meats. The diet’s main intake was whole-grain foods, fruits and vegetables. The low fat diet participants burned the least calories in one day and showed decreased levels of good cholesterol and an increase in triglycerides. Excess levels of triglycerides is closely linked to obesity.

The Low-Carb Diet
This meal-plan is modeled after the Atkins diet. This diet increases the consumption of cheese, eggs, fish, chicken, beef and some fruits and vegetables. It minimizes the intake of carbohydrates including pasta, bread, rice and baked goods. The low-carb diet is the winner of burning calories. With an average of 325 calories lost per day, the low-carb diet exceeds the low fat diet participants. However, there are included side effects such as an increase in the stress hormones called cortisol and CRP (C-Reactive Protein). Cortisol affects many areas of the body including the nervous system, immune system and the reaction of the body to stress. CRP is a part of the response team for trauma, infection, and inflammation. An increase in these two hormones raises blood pressure and heart rate increasing the risk of heart disease. A study published in BMJ showed that Swedish women on a low-carb diet increased their risk of heart disease by 28% compared to women who were not on this type of diet.

The Low-Glycemic Index Diet
Related to the Mediterranean diet, this diet’s focal points are whole grains, low-fat meats, fruits and vegetables, beans and healthy fats from olive oil and nuts. It also avoids highly processed foods, sugary carbs and unhealthy snacks. The low-glycemic dieters burned about 150 calories more a day than the low fat group, but without the harmful heart risks.

“For weight loss and heart disease prevention, avoid diets that severely restrict any major nutrient, either fat or carbohydrate,” According to Dr. David Ludwig, director of the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention at the Center at Boston Children’s Hospital. Instead he suggests to reduce the intake of highly processed carbohydrates that causes surges and crashes in blood sugar. The surges and crashes are what cause hunger and appetite, it sends a trigger to the brain to seek out calories to make up for the loss it is sensing. Metabolism slows down when the body isn’t getting enough calories to conserve energy, which in return makes people regain the weight that was lost.

“The quality of each calorie is what matters,” local lake mary doctors agree. Calories are not all the same; each calorie going in affects the one going out. If the quality of the calorie is harmful it will increase the chance of weight regain. Ludwig states that the low-glycemic diet is the diet of choice. It doesn’t take away any major nutrient from the body and it includes a wide variety of food with high nutrients to maintain a healthy weight loss.

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