A study by Stanford University researchers suggests that low-carb and low-fat approaches are equally effective for all people, regardless of their insulin levels or genotype patterns.
Many who want to take off some pounds are faced with a dizzying array of diet options and reports that one's biology is as much a weight loss factor as what one eats. Stanford University researchers may have greatly simplified the matter, finding that low-carb and low-fat approaches are equally effective for all people, regardless of their insulin levels or genotype patterns. The study involved 609 participants who agreed to follow the randomly selected low-carb or low-fat diet plans they were given for a full year. They were also urged to load up healthy foods, refrain from eating processed ones, and avoid consuming so little they felt deprived.
A university release about the study notes each of the individuals also "got part of their genome sequenced, allowing scientists to look for specific gene patterns associated with producing proteins that modify carbohydrate or fat metabolism. Then, participants took a baseline insulin test...and researchers measured their bodies' insulin outputs." By year's end, 20% of the subjects had dropped out "due to outside circumstances," but an analysis of those remaining suggested neither diet approach was in any way superior to the other. It also found no evidence to support the notion that insulin levels or genotype patterns contribute to or prevent a diet's success. The team plans to further analyze the data collected during the study in an effort to learn what kinds of individual approaches could aid weight loss.
