Don't Forget the Fat!

Low-fat diet not most effective in long-term weight loss

Researchers conduct a systematic review of randomized clinical trials comparing the long-term effectiveness of low-fat and higher-fat dietary interventions on weight loss

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151029185540.htm

Article Summary: 

A study preformed by researches from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Pubic Health (HSPH) investigated the results of randomized clinical trials that experimented about the efficiency of a low-fat diet. The results were that low-fat diets were no more successful that high-fat diets in achieving and maintaining weight loss for longer than a year. 

The study took 68,128 participants of 53 studies and investigated their outcomes. They found that when low fat diets were compared to other diet results, the participants lost around 6 pounds in all trials, but was unable to retain the weight loss for more than a year. Additionally, participants of low-fat, low carb diets only lost 1 to 2 pounds. They were only effective when compared to the participants "usual diet."

The implications of this study show that our attention needs to move from ratios of calories from fat, carbs, and protein to developing a balanced diet of whole foods, portion sizes, and tailored to our environment. These can help prevent weight gain in the first place. 

Personal Reflection: 

I chose to write about this article in my blog because I have seen the first hand effects of these carb cutting and fat elimination diets. My mom has done these type of diets for years. I too sometimes have fallen victim to the hype. Yet, after having a nutritional science major as a roommate for two years, I have come to understand the importance of loving your body and not stripping it of what it needs. She would always talk about Avocados and how incredibly healthy they are, but how fat filled they are also. Also, I worked at an organic juicing restaurant this summer. The juices were around 300 calories each. Yet, they were incredibly nutrient dense and healthy. Still, when customers asked about the calories and I told them 300 they would gasp and some would even hand back the juices. I think I have come to understand that we are to fuel our body, not deny it of its necessary needs. 

Correlation:

This correlates to discussions in class following Hunter's individual project on Urban Farming, and mine on Vegetarianism. We talked about the importance of buying local and the difference in American supermarkets and European street markets. We discussed the way American lifestyle has played a crucial role on the decline of our health. Because we no longer have to go out and kill our own chicken to have fried chicken for dinner, it is much easier to eat it often and in large quantities. Therefore, we eat more often and larger sizes than we ever have before, and this is playing a huge role in the decline of our health and our environment trying to keep up with our growing appetites.