To lose weight, do not cut the fat from your plate

According to a large Harvard study, there are more effective ways to lose weight.


Analyzing 53 studies with more than 68,000 participants in total, researchers concluded that low-fat diets are no more effective than others with more fat. Good news for those who think that to lose weight, just switch all meals for a plate of lettuce. Deirdre Tobias, one of the researchers, said in an interview that "Despite the prevailing dogma that says you have to cut off the supply of fat to lose weight, the scientific evidence does not support these diets compared to other dietary interventions for weight loss in the long term."


The study was structured to compare people who have diets low in fat and people who have other types of eating disorders (tests that included meal replacements with shakes or soups slimming were excluded). Participants who made low-carb diets were on average 1 kg leaner than those who cut fat. In fact, no fat diets only won the usual diet, one in which the person did not change their eating habits.

Tobias stressed the importance of looking beyond calories to create a pattern of healthy living. One strategy for this is to find new ways to establish a good power for a continuous period, and not just when you want to lose weight. Frank Hu, study leader, adds: "Diets for weight loss should be adapted to food, cultural and health conditions of the individual preferences should also be considered the health consequences in the future.".