Nutrition approach to weight loss fails in study
CHICAGO — A precision nutrition approach to weight loss didn’t hold up in a study testing low fat versus low carb depending on dieters’ genetic or metabolic makeup.
Previous research suggested that insulin levels or certain genes could interact with different types of diet to influence weight loss.
Stanford University researchers examined this idea with 600 overweight adults who underwent genetic and insulin testing before being randomly assigned to reduce their fat or carbohydrate intake.
Weight loss averaged about 13 pounds over a year regardless of genes, insulin and diet type.
What seemed to make a difference was healthful eating. Participants who ate the fewest processed foods, sugary drinks and unhealthy fats lost the most weight.
The study was published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
