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A low‐carbohydrate diet is more effective in reducing body weight than healthy eating in both diabetic and non‐diabetic subjects
Author(s) -
Dyson P. A.,
Beatty S.,
Matthews D. R.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
diabetic medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.474
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1464-5491
pISSN - 0742-3071
DOI - 10.1111/j.1464-5491.2007.02290.x
Subject(s) - medicine , diabetes mellitus , carbohydrate , body mass index , endocrinology , weight loss , type 2 diabetes , cholesterol , lipid profile , metformin , obesity
Background Low‐carbohydrate diets are effective for weight reduction in people without diabetes, but there is limited evidence for people with Type 2 diabetes. Aims To assess the impact of a low‐carbohydrate diet on body weight, glycated haemoglobin (HbA 1c ), ketone and lipid levels in diabetic and non‐diabetic subjects. Methods Thirteen Type 2 diabetic subjects (on diet or metformin) and 13 non‐diabetic subjects were randomly allocated to either a low‐carbohydrate diet (≤ 40 g carbohydrate/day) or a healthy‐eating diet following Diabetes UK nutritional recommendations and were seen monthly for 3 months. Subjects (25% male) were (mean ± sd ) age 52 ± 9 years, weight 96.3 ± 16.6 kg, body mass index 35.1 kg/m 2 , HbA 1c 6.6 ± 1.1%, total cholesterol 5.1 ± 1.1 mmol/l, high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol 1.3 ± 0.4 mmol/l, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol 3.1 ± 0.9 mmol/l, triglycerides (geometric mean) 1.55 (1.10, 2.35) mmol/l and ketones range 0.0–0.2 mmol/l. Results Analysis was by intention to treat with last observation carried forward. Twenty‐two of the participants (85%) completed the study. Weight loss was greater (6.9 vs. 2.1 kg, P = 0.003) in the low‐carbohydrate group, with no difference in changes in HbA 1c , ketone or lipid levels. Conclusions The diet was equally effective in those with and without diabetes.