A recent study found that eating whole grains and plant-based proteins and lipids may assist to prevent long-term weight gain.
When compared against diets high in meat and refined carbohydrates, researchers at Harvard University in the US discovered that this kind of low-carbohydrate, or low-carb, diet was superior for long-term weight maintenance.
Although low-carb diets have already been linked to positive short-term weight improvements, little research has examined how these diets affect our weight over the long run, according to researchers.
According to the US-based Mayo Clinic, a diet low in carbs emphasises meals strong in protein and fat rather than grains and starchy foods.
“To carb or not to carb? is not the only question our research addresses.” Lead author of the study Binkai Liu, a research assistant in Harvard’s nutrition department, stated in a statement.
“It dissects the low-carbohydrate diet and provides a nuanced look at how the composition of these diets can affect health over years, not just weeks or months.”
The results were released in the journal JAMA Network Open last week.
More than 120,000 people participated in the three studies conducted between 1986 and 2018 in total. Every four years, participants gave self-reported updates on their weight and diets.
The time frame for doing the data analysis was November 2022–April 2023.
The researchers examined five different low-carb diets, with some emphasising more fat and protein from plant sources and others focusing more on animal sources.
The study concluded that their results imply that a low-carb diet’s quality “may play a critical role in modulating long-term weight change”.
“High-quality protein, fat, and carbohydrates from whole grains and other plant-based foods were associated with less weight gain,” the researchers reported in relation to the diets.
One of the study’s shortcomings was that the information was self-reported. This indicates that “inevitable” measurement errors occurred. The observational nature of the study means that biases or confounding variables may potentially present.
The researchers examined five different low-carb diets, with some emphasising more fat and protein from plant sources and others focusing more on animal sources.
The study concluded that their results imply that a low-carb diet’s quality “may play a critical role in modulating long-term weight change”.
“High-quality protein, fat, and carbohydrates from whole grains and other plant-based foods were associated with less weight gain,” the researchers reported in relation to the diets.
One of the study’s shortcomings was that the information was self-reported. This indicates that “inevitable” measurement errors occurred. The observational nature of the study means that biases or confounding variables may potentially present.