Wednesday, February 25, 2009

It's only the calories that count


Confused about which diet to go on, low carb, no carb, high protien, low fat? Well, it's all about the calories, according to a recent article in the Baltimore Sun. In a recent study done by the New England Journal of Medicine tested four different diets and found participants lost similar amounts of wieght on all of them. At the sixth month mark the all participants lost an average of 13 pounds and maintained a 9 pound lost after two years.
"The determining factor ended up being calories. It really comes down to people doing what is most effective for themselves, as long as they are healthy and prevent heart disease," Dr. Frank Sacks, professor of cardiovascular disease prevention at the Harvard School of Public Health and lead author of the study said.

I fully agree with this article. For years and years people have been attracted to fad diets that in long run get them nowhere because they are unable to maintain their weightloss. The article was very well written as well, it covered both sides of the issue, noting that one of the drawbacks of the study was that only one third of the participants adhered to their diets. Also, I liked that the study went on for two years so the readers can see how the participants maintained their diets over time. However, I would have liked to seen the study more weight specific; people slightly over wieght as compared to obese people and more participant feedback; how they felt, which diet made them feel the least hungery and which was the easiest to maintain.
*picture

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

This was a good article choice. I would add a little information on how students who live on campus and eat in the dining halls can count their calories.

Charnay916 said...

Fun and Interesting post...I love the topic..really helpful and the pic was really cool too ;)

Geneane Jae said...

Good article and summary. How do you think diets affect students here at Towson?

jenny atwater said...

Good, relevant article for your beat. Good job including the link to the study.