For those of us wanting to lose weight and keep it off, a new, ground-breaking study on dieting is providing great information.
The new diet study, done at the University of Copenhagen, is the largest study on dieting and the maintenance of weight loss ever done. It found that the key to a successful weight loss plan is a high protein/low glycemic index (GI) diet.
A high protein/low GI diet is one full of lean meat, beans, whole grain cereals and low-fat dairy.
The study focused on maintaining weight loss and breaking the yo-yo cycle of trying to lose weight, only to gain it back and have to diet all over again . It was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The Independent ‘Diogenes’ (Diet, Obesity, Genes) research tracked the results of five sets of dieters on different weight loss maintenance plans.
Only those on a high-protein/low GI diet maintained their weight loss after six months.
Professor Arne Astrup, who headed up the study, said “I was one of the enemies of GI, I expected in this trial it would make no difference. It is as important as protein in maintaining weight loss.”
The study included 900 adults and 800 children, from eight different European countries. It found that after six months those on a high-protein, low GI diet averaged almost four and a half pounds lighter than those on other diets with a high high glycaemic index.
The conclusion of the study was that “a modest increase in protein content and a modest reduction in the glycemic index led to an improvement in study completion and maintenance of weight loss.”
