Is there an optimal diet for weight management and optimal health? - REVIEW analysis

[ScottCocking]

Hi all

This is the first thread i have made - but i feel it could add value!

I wanted to share some information from a new scientific publication recently out in the journal of Gastroenterology...

This review is topical, seeing as at the minute, blood pressures tend to boil over when discussing nutrition & the best way to achieve a set goal...

All i am going to do is highlight the outline of the review and convey some of the key messages & open the panel up to you guys if you like to see what you think.

Purpose of the article?

Individuals can lose weight & improve health on a wide range of energy (calorie) restricted diets... The most commonly used diets include LOW FAT, LOW CARB, & the MEDITERRANEAN diet - not to mention the commercial slimming programs, meal replacement & intermittent fasting diets that are now out there. This article analysed previous literature findings to come up with some conclusions on what seems to be THE KEY to losing weight.

They summarised that LOW FAT diets tend to improve LDL cholesterol more than any other diet (often reported as "bad" cholesterol), but the differences between diets were marginal.

LOW CARB diets may help improve triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol (often termed - the "good" cholesterol) - on a side note, good & bad cholesterol is more complex than people give it credit.


Second finding - If you lose weight (regardless of which diet or approach you take), you improve ALMOST ALL obesity-related morbidities and metabolic markers! - i.e. Weight loss is the key process - not the macro nutrient intake to help you get there.

They go on to say: "Studies have conclusively demonstrated that in weight management terms, calorie restriction below metabolic requirements is fundamental for weight loss."

Third and most important finding for this thread - Individuals vary in food preferences and the ability to adhere or stick to a certain dietary regimen. Optimising this adherence is therefore THE most important factor in your weight loss success...

Fourth finding - Maintaining weight loss is the biggest challenge for people


Summary of the paper:

Human beings like simple solutions - and there is therefore a need to discover ONE diet that solves EVERYTHING. According to the historical evidence, there is no optimal diet for losing weight - the one consistent factor that is apparent is the need for a calorie deficit. Caloric restriction is the premise for every successful weight loss strategy out there... The best diet ultimately is the one you can stick to LONG TERM.


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Would like to hear some thoughts on this and whether you find the information surprising? If so, why?

Have a great day

Reference:
Thom G, Lean M, "Is there an optimal diet for weight management and metabolic health?”, Gastroenterology (2017), doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2017.01.056.

 

[Trusylver]

Thankyou for your input, The point that almost all diets work in general and there is no one diet to suit everybody is something I have promoted for a long time. Diet change needs to be a long term lifestyle change and not a quick fix.

The reason for choosing a particular diet is not always about how effective it is, other factors come into it, for example I have a range of allergies and so a very low carb lifestyle suits me. For other it may be a moral decision as it is for many vegetarians or vegans.

This is one reason even as a Mod I tend to keep away from the endless "which diet is best ?" argument