Weight-loss : low-fat against low-carbohydrate diets in overweight/obese adults

Abstract

Introduction: Obesity is a disorder which can result in serious health problems, such as; heart disease, diabetes and breast cancer (WHO, 2006). Lately, low-carbohydrate diet has become popular to lose weight; however there are still queries about which diet is best for weight loss (Hession, 2009). Objective: To investigate which diet (Low-fat or low-carbohydrate) is more effective in weight loss, with the research question being; Is a low-carbohydrate diet more effective than a low-fat diet to achieve weight loss in overweight/obese persons? Method: Research which was conducted between 2003 to date was considered for this dissertation. The following databases were used to identify relevant studies: PubMed, Academic Search Complete, BioMed Central, AgeLine, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CINAHL and Medline. Ten papers met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The AMSTAR and PEDro critical appraisal tools were used. Throughout this dissertation, ethical issued were taken into consideration. Findings: Although the studies chosen for this study provided different percentages of carbohydrates and fats, it resulted that a low-carbohydrate diet is better to achieve weight loss in a shorter period of time. Conclusion: Results showed that participants on low-fat diet kept losing weight throughout the year, while those on a low-carbohydrate diet lost significant weight in the first six months. However, after 12 months, there was no significant difference in the total weight lost between the diets. Therefore, the difference between the diets is the rate at which weight is lost. It is recommended that low-carbohydrate diet can be used to achieve rapid weight loss in a short period of time, even though it is not known if the weight loss achieved is maintained or regained. Evidence based practice between lowfat and low-carbohydrate diets in order to identify which one results in weight regain is recommended.