Washington, June 2 (ANI): A new study has suggested that obese people, who are considering one of the popular low-carbohydrate, higher-fat diets, face no arterial health risks.
The studies by heart and vascular researchers at Johns Hopkins said the program is much better compared to a low-fat, high-carb diet.
"Overweight and obese people appear to really have options when choosing a weight-loss program, including a low-carb diet, and even if it means eating more fat," the studies' lead investigator exercise physiologist Kerry Stewart, Ed.D, said.
Stewart is a professor of medicine and director of clinical and research exercise physiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and its Heart and Vascular Institute.
He said his team's latest analysis is believed to be the first direct comparison of either kind of diet on the effects to vascular health, using the real-life context of 46 people trying to lose weight through diet and moderate exercise.
In the study, scheduled to be presented June 3 at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Denver, the Hopkins team studied 23 men and women, weighing on average 218 pounds and participating in a six-month weight-loss program that consisted of moderate aerobic exercise and lifting weights, plus a diet made up of no more than 30 percent of calories from carbs, such as pastas, breads and sugary fruits. As much as 40 percent of their diet was made up of fats coming from meat, dairy products and nuts.
This low-carb group showed no change after shedding 10 pounds in two key measures of vascular health.
Low-carb dieters showed no harmful vascular changes, but also on average dropped 10 pounds in 45 days, compared to an equal number of study participants randomly assigned to a low-fat diet.
The low-fat group, whose diets consisted of no more than 30 percent from fat and 55 percent from carbs, took on average nearly a month longer, or 70 days, to lose the same amount of weight.
"Our study should help allay the concerns that many people who need to lose weight have about choosing a low-carb diet instead of a low-fat one, and provide re-assurance that both types of diet are effective at weight loss and that a low-carb approach does not seem to pose any immediate risk to vascular health," Stewart said.
"More people should be considering a low-carb diet as a good option," he added.
Stewart said the key to maintaining healthy blood vessels and vascular function seems - in particular, when moderate exercise is included-less about the type of diet and more about maintaining a healthy body weight without an excessive amount of body fat. (ANI)
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