Low-Carb Diet Wins

The Associated Press reports findings from a recent trial done with participants in Israel in a longitudinal study on weight loss and diet regimes.

"The research was done in a controlled environment - an isolated nuclear research facility in Israel. The 322 participants got their main meal of the day, lunch, at a central cafeteria.

The low-fat diet - no more than 30 percent of calories from fat - restricted calories and cholesterol and focused on low-fat grains, vegetables and fruits as options. The Mediterranean diet had similar calorie, fat and cholesterol restrictions, emphasizing poultry, fish, olive oil and nuts. The low-carb diet set limits for carbohydrates, but none for calories or fat. It urged dieters to choose vegetarian sources of fat and protein.

Average weight loss for those in the low-carb group was 10.3 pounds after two years. Those in the Mediterranean diet lost 10 pounds, and those on the low-fat regimen dropped 6.5. "

It's not so surprising to see that both the low-carb and the Mediterranean diet had greater weight loss than a traditional low diet. What is apparently surprising people was to learn that the Atkins diet outperformed the Med diet in terms of overall cholesterol performance. The Atkins diet appears to have had the most improvement, of the three dieting regimes utilized, in several cholesterol measurements.

How important is it to studies like this that we do not have a true control group? Is low-fat dieting the control group for Atkins dieting? Why not simply have a fourth group that is not dieting at all, and use it as the control group?