From veganism to low-calorie diets, the Mediterranean regime and even intermittent fasting, there are all kinds of diets promising fast or gradual weight loss, depending on individual needs. But which approach is really effective long term, without damaging health? Researchers in the US have studied the subject, concluding that low-carbohydrate diets high in proteins, fats and carbohydrates from healthy, plant-based sources were linked with slower long-term weight gain.
Our study goes beyond the simple question of, To carb or not to carb? said lead author Binkai Liu, research assistant in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. It dissects the low-carbohydrate diet and provides a nuanced look at how the composition of these diets can affect health over years, not just weeks or months. To reach these conclusions, the researchers set out to evaluate different types of low-carbohydrate diets, whose benefits for weight loss are already known, but only in the short term.
The team of scientists analysed the diet and weight of 123,332 healthy adults, between 1986 and 2018, from three large studies . All the people included in these studies were asked to provide information on their diet and weight every four years, and the researchers scored participants’ diets based on how well they adhered to five categories of low-carbohydrate diet. These included diets emphasising animal or plant-based fats and proteins, as well as lower overall carbohydrate intake.
