Low-fat diets ineffective for weight loss

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A new study has revealed that low-fat diets are ineffective for achieving long-term weight loss.

Lead author Deirdre Tobias from Harvard Medical School said the thinking was that simply reducing fat intake would naturally lead to weight loss. Tobias, however, added that their robust evidence clearly suggested otherwise.

In the study, Tobias and his colleagues did a meta-analysis of randomised trials comparing the effectiveness of low-fat diets to other diets, including no diet.

They took into account the intensity of the diets, which ranged from just pamphlets or instructions at the beginning of the programme to intensive multi-component programmes, including counselling sessions, meetings with dieticians, food diaries, and cooking lessons.

According to the study involving 68,128 adults, there was no difference in the average weight loss between reduced-fat diets and higher-fat diets.

Indeed, reduced-fat diets only led to greater weight loss when compared with no diet at all and resulted in less weight loss compared with low-carbohydrate interventions.

Tobias said that science did not support low-fat diets as the optimal long-term weight loss strategy.

He further said long-term adherence was critical for the success of any dietary intervention, and added that one should also take into account other long-term health effects of their dietary choices.