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 “Our hypothesis is that not all fats are the same; we have to
differentiate fats from vegetables and fats from animal sources,”
said lead study author Dr. Ramon Estruch of the University of
Barcelona.
“Vegetable fat such as extra virgin olive oil and nuts help to
reduce body weight when these foods are consumed in a healthy diet
such as a Mediterranean diet,” Estruch added by email.
A Mediterranean diet typically includes lots of fruits, vegetables,
whole grains, legumes and olive oil. This diet also tends to favor
lean sources of protein like chicken or fish over red meat, which
contains more saturated fat.
While some previous research has linked a Mediterranean diet to
weight loss and a reduced risk of heart disease and some cancers,
scientists haven't conclusively proven that the diet itself is
responsible, rather than other lifestyle choices made by people who
eat this way.
For the current study, Estruch and colleagues randomly assigned
7,447 older adults at risk for cardiovascular disease to follow one
of three diets: a Mediterranean diet supplemented with one liter
(about 34 fluid ounces)of extra virgin olive oil a week, a
Mediterranean diet supplemented with 30 grams (1 oz) of nuts a day,
or a low-fat diet.
At the start of the study, the men were 55 to 80 years old and the
women were 60 to 80. All of them had either diabetes or three or
more other risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as a smoking
habit, elevated blood pressure or high cholesterol.
None of them were told to restrict calories or exercise during the
study.
After almost five years, people in all three groups had slightly
reduced body weight but the change was bigger with the two groups
assigned a Mediterranean diet, researchers report in The Lancet
Diabetes and Endocrinology.
People assigned to follow a Mediterranean diet supplemented with
nuts lost 0.08 kilograms (less than half a pound) more weight than
the group on the low-fat diet after five years, the study found.
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Those on the Mediterranean diet with added olive oil, lost 0.43
kilograms (almost one pound) more weight than participants on the
low-fat diet.
Researchers also looked at waist circumference over the five years
and found little difference between the people on the Mediterranean
diet with extra nuts and the participants assigned to a low-fat
diet. The group assigned to a Mediterranean diet with added olive
oil had a slightly smaller increase in waist size than the low-fat
diet group.
One limitation of the study is that it’s hard for researchers to
confirm how strictly people followed their assigned diets, the
authors note. The changes participants reported in fat intake as a
percentage of total calories was also quite small.
Even so, the findings suggest that people trying to lose weight may
not want to focus exclusively on cutting calories and fat, Dr.
Dariush Mozaffarian, a nutrition researcher at Tufts University in
Boston, writes in an accompanying editorial.
“Numerous trials have shown that, in people trying to lose weight,
high-fat diets that focus on reducing starch, other refined grains
and sugars are as effective or more effective than healthy low-fat
diets in the long term,” Mozaffarian told Reuters Health by email.
“This trial should finally lay to rest our country’s long-running
fear of fat, when it comes from healthy foods such as nuts and extra
virgin olive oil,” Mozaffarian added.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1TYtblS The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology,
online June 6, 2016.
(This version of the story corrects the spelling of Dr.
Mozaffarian's surname in the final three paragraphs.)
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