As a major carb lover, I could never imagine my life without breads or pastas. However, low-carb and no carb diets seem to be increasingly common in our current society. A low-carb diet is completely out of the question for me, I mean who wants to give up bread? Recent diet crazes lead me to wonder which type of diet is more beneficial: low-carb or the traditional low fat?
Metabolism researcher at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases, Kevin Hall, recently conducted an experiment on the low carb versus low fat battle. Hall and his fellow researchers found 19 obese people who averaged around 35 years old. In order to test the effects of a low-carb diet, the participants had to first undergo a baseline diet. Throughout this five-day baseline diet, the participants had to consume 2,470 calories per day. 50% of these calories were carbs, while 35% were fat and an additional 15% was protein. After the five-day period, the participants had to obey this same diet for the six following days while cutting 30% of the total calories of carbs. After the six days, participants took a week-long break in their diets. Following the hiatus, the subjects resumed with the baseline diet for five days, and then moved onto the 30% less diet for the next six days. Throughout the periods of dieting, the participants stayed in the laboratory in order to allow the researchers to oversee what they ate. I think that that is a very good method because monitoring the participants eliminates the potential for third variables, which we discussed in class.
Through the aforementioned study, the researchers found that “although following a low carb diet did increase the breakdown of fat, these changes did not translate into an increased loss of body fat, compared with the amount of fat the participants lost while 
following a low-fat diet.” However, the study does not show the average weight lost, the regulations of those on the low-fat diets, or the complete duration of the study. Furthermore, I am curious as to whether either diet has any significant health effects.
In contrast, another study conducted on low fat versus low-carb diets was a meta-analysis, in which researchers gathered data from roughly 50 studies that contained nearly 7,300 participants altogether. The results of the meta-analysis “showed that there was little difference between low-fat and low-carb diets in terms of weight loss.” On average, people who followed either diet lost an average of 18 pounds over 6 months when compared to those who did not abide by any particular diet. However, relative to a typical lifespan, six months is a very short time. Therefore, I believe there may be a difference in these diets over the long run.
Those who suffer from obesity are typically the participants of diet studies, which may skew 
the data results. Usually, those who are obese can lose more weight at a faster rate since they have more weight to lose. If you took a 100-pound person and a 300-pound individual and put them on the same diet and exercise pattern, the person who weighs 300 pounds would generally lose weight much quicker. Also, obesity tends to create multiple health issues and therefore, I wonder if either diet can increase the negative health problems. According to Livescience, reducing carbs reduces insulin levels, and therefore, low-carb diets may be harmful to those who suffer from diabetes.
Within each study, there are many third variables. As we learned in class, third variables can only be ruled out in experiments and as a result are very common in observational studies. Something that could make a large difference in weight loss is exercise. While participants were monitored in the first experiment, the meta-analysis does not suggest supervision. As a result, I believe many individuals may have exercised more vigorously and frequently since they knew they were a part of a study.
Researchers involved in both the experiment and the meta-analysis suggest that any diet is effective, and that success depends on the individual’s drive to accomplish their goals. Therefore, it is important to pick a diet that you can stick to, and not one that you believe will cause you to lose weight the fastest.
This post is well written and is very eye-opening, especially because I have never believed in diets. I have never thought they can do good for the body, only harm, because its more about fasting, and not about getting the essential nutrients your body needs. However, this post says otherwise. The study you elaborated upon stated that those who follow either diet lost eighteen pounds over six months compared to those who did not abide by a particular diet. It would be interesting to know what was included in this diet, especially if exercise was a main factor. If they ate right, and exercised, the diet seems like a good route to take, but often times for me, i am scared to approach a diet because it is more about the food where as it should be about portion control and exercise, not necessarily only about the food. I enjoyed the ending of your post where you told us about third variables that could be involved because, there is always a chance for those in any experiment but especially when it comes to studies on health and diets, as everyone’s health is different. It was also nice to tie both of the studies together at the end, by stating they both agree any diet could be effective. This post is overall very well-written, and it is interesting to know what diets can do for you health wise.
Cassidy, this is a really well-done post. As I was reading about the studies you found, I was thinking how confounding variables could have impacting the results these observational experiments found. You addressed this wonderfully at the end of your post. I found an article on Daily News that compares the diets of two identical twins. One twin tried out a high-fat, low-carb and the other a low-fat, high-carb diet. While Daily News isn’t the most scientific source, it was an interesting story that relates very well to your blog post. The twin with the low-carb diet found that he was not nearly as healthy as his brother after the change in diet. He said, “I thought I’d got the better deal: I could eat meat, fish, eggs and cheese, but take away carbohydrates and the joy goes out of meals. And remove all fruit and veg — they all have carbs — and you get constipated.” He said he lost muscle and was closer to being diabetic. Like the experiments you included, there could definitely be third variables impacting the outcome of this, but I thought you would be interested in this story! Again, great job with your blog post.