The study ‘Preventing Overweight Using Novel Dietary Strategies’ (POUNDS LOST) was conducted in Boston at Harvard University School of Public Health and at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La.
The researchers found that similar weight loss after six months and two years among participants assigned to four diets that differed in their proportions of these three major nutrients. The diets were low or high in total fat (20 or 40 percent of calories) with average or high protein (15 or 25 percent of calories). Carbohydrate content ranged from 35 to 65 percent of calories. The diets all used the same calorie reduction goals and were heart-healthy — low in saturated fat and cholesterol while high in dietary fiber.
"These results show that, as long as people follow a heart-healthy, reduced-calorie diet, there is more than one nutritional approach to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight," said Elizabeth G. Nabel, M.D., director, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). "This provides people who need to lose weight with the flexibility to choose an approach that they’re most likely to sustain — one that is most suited to their personal preferences and health needs."
In the POUNDS LOST study, 811 overweight and obese adults aged 30 to 70 were assigned to one of four diets, and asked to record their food intake in a diary or an online tool that showed how intake compared with goals. Participants were given personalized calorie goals, ranging from 1,200 to 2,400 calories per day, which reduced their overall caloric intake as compared with their daily energy requirement. All participants were asked to do moderate-intensity physical activity, such as brisk walking, for at least 90 minutes per week.
Overweight is defined by having a body mass index
define (BMI) — a calculation of the relationship between weight and height — greater than 25 and less than 30. Those with a BMI of 30 or higher are considered to be obese. Sixty-six percent of American adults are overweight and of those, 32 percent are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
They found that on average, participants lost 13 pounds at six months and maintained a 9 pound loss at two years. Participants also reduced their waistlines by 1 to 3 inches by the end of the study. Craving, fullness, hunger, and diet satisfaction were all similar across the four diets.
"We were encouraged that, in addition to achieving and maintaining weight loss, study participants experienced other positive health changes as well," said Catherine M. Loria, Ph.D., a nutritional epidemiologist at NHLBI and co-author of the study. "The findings emphasize the importance of weight loss in reducing heart disease risk."
The study is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health, and published Feb. 26, 2009, in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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