Abstract
Objectives
To determine whether a very low-fat diet (<15% of energy intake) consumed ad libitum
during an 8-month period can achieve weight loss of 5% to 10% of initial body weight
while still providing adequate intakes of other essential nutrients.
Design
Longitudinal, 8-month, ad libitum, free living, very low-fat diet trial.
Subjects
Fifty-four of the sixty-four healthy postmenopausal women recruited completed the
entire study (age 59±8 years, BMI=29.6±6.3). Twenty-four of these women used hormone
replacement therapy, thirty women did not.
Intervention
Weekly sessions aimed at teaching and reinforcing a very low-fat intake diet for eight
months.
Main
outcome measures Body weight, percent body fat, waist-to-hip ratio, resting energy
expenditure, respiratory quotient, and nutrient intakes derived from 7-day food records
at the beginning and at 2, 4, 6, and 8 months of the study.
Statistical analysis performed
Repeated measures analysis of variance and Tukey post hoc analysis were used to analyze
significant differences in mean data (P< .05).
Results
Fat intake decreased from 33.2±7.5% to 11±4% over the 8-month intervention period
(P<.00001). Weight loss was 6.0 kg± 4.2 kg (P<.000038), an 8% weight change, and decrease in percent body fat of 2.7%±0.2% (P≤.000046). Weight correlated better with the self-reported fat intake (r=0.321, P<.01) than the energy intake (r=0.263, P<.05) at baseline. Fiber intake increased from 16 g±0.6 g to 23 g±0.2 g (P<.0005). All micronutrient intakes remained at or above preintervention ranges, except
for a decrease in vitamin E intake from 8.1 mg±4.0 mg to 3.7 mg±1.1 mg (P<.0005) on the very low-fat diet and linoleic acid from 6.3%±1.5% to 2.5%±0.7% (P<.000001) with no significant reduction in linolenic acid. Hormone replacement was
not associated with the amount of weight loss.
Applications
This study demonstrates that adherence to a very low-fat diet consumed ad libitum
causes weight loss in the 5% to 10% range and a reduction of body fat. These reductions,
along with the observed decreases in fat intake, are associated with improved health
outcomes. Because of the decreased vitamin E and n-3 fatty acid intake, emphasis on
foods high in these nutrients may need to be encouraged for those consuming a very
low-fat diet.
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Biography
W. M. Mueller-Cunningham is an assistant professor, Department of Family & Consumer Sciences, and R. Quintana is an assistant professor, Department of Kinesiology, both at California State University of Sacramento, Sacramento.
Biography
S. E. Kasim-Karakas is a professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Clinical Nutrition, School of Medicine, University of California at Davis, Davis.
Article info
Footnotes
☆This study was supported by grant CA 61654 to Sidika Kasim-Karakas, MD, from the National Cancer Institute.
Identification
Copyright
© 2003 American Dietetic Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
