From Medscape Diabetes & Endocrinology

A randomized-controlled trial from Duke University was also presented at the conference. The researchers in this study also compared the effects of a low-carbohydrate (LC) diet with a low-fat, low-calorie (LF) program. This study included 120 obese (mean BMI 34 kg/m2) males and females, who all received group treatment for their respective diet programs. At 6 months, both groups had similar rates of attrition, but the LC group lost considerably more weight (13.3 ± 4.6%) compared with the LF group (8.6 ± 5.9%). In addition, the LC group lost significantly more fat mass than the LF group (-9.7 kg for the LC group and -6.4 kg for the LF group). Both groups showed decreases in triglycerides, with the LF group also showing a significant decrease in total cholesterol (-13.5 mg/dL). The LC group showed significant increases in HDL and a significant decrease in Chol/HDL ratio. This pattern of results was similar to those of the 3-center study described previously.