Findings of the study suggest that both the methods--following a low-carb diet or taking weight loss drugs and following a low-fat diet--are equally effective in helping the obese people shed some extra pounds.
However, low-carb diet appeared to be a healthy option as it led to a considerable decline in their systolic blood pressure
levels.
Systolic blood pressure is the top number in a blood pressure reading.
Patients with real health problems studied
Researchers from the Duke University Medical Centre carried out a study for 48 weeks on 146 “real patients” with range of health problems like diabetes and heart disease to come up with these findings.
All the participants received instructions on their dietary intake at regular group meetings throughout the course of the study.
The subjects were randomly divided into two groups; one group was assigned to receive instructions on eating a low-carb diet consisting of less than 20 grams of carbohydrates per day.
The other group was directed to take 120 mg of orlistat three times a day as well as given instructions to eat a low-fat diet.
Orlistat is a drug recommended by doctors for weight loss purposes. The pill prevents dietary fat from being digested and absorbed in the body.
Low-carb diet found to lower blood pressure
Analysis of the data revealed that no significant difference was found in the weight loss figures in the two groups.
At the end of 48 weeks, the researchers found those who were put on the low carb diet had lost 9.5 percent of the body weight, whereas the figure stood at 8.5 percent for the orlistat group.
The researchers also noted that cholesterol levels improved equally in both the groups, whereas insulin and glucose markers improved only in the low-carb group.
However, when the researchers looked at the changes in the blood pressure levels of both the groups, they found a significant drop (almost 50 percent decrease) in the systolic blood pressure in the low-carb group compared to only 21 percent of those in the orlistat group.
The low-carb group reported a 5.9 points drop in the systolic blood pressure, while the orlistat group reported an increase of 1.5 points.
The lead author, Dr William Yancy, from Duke University Medical Centre, said, "The findings send an important message to people with high blood pressure who are trying to lose weight.
"While weight loss typically induces improvements in blood pressure, it may be that the low-carbohydrate diet has an additional effect.
"It's important to know you can try a diet instead of medication and get the same weight loss results with fewer costs and potentially fewer side effects."
The study appears in the Journal Archives of Internal Medicine.
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