A study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology says that reducing the intake of healthy fats does not make people lose more weight, but rather the opposite. A group of researchers from Spain found out that cutting down on healthy fats does not have a significant impact on weight loss for individuals who are already obese. The researchers used the data from a previous medical trial that lasted for five years called PREDIMED.

A Mediterranean meal plans full of healthy fats

PREDIMED followed the medical history of almost 7,500 people, including men and women, while they followed a meal plan based on the very famous Mediterranean diet. All the participants were affiliated to at least 1 of 11 hospitals in Spain where the checkups occurred. The subjects of the study were aged 55 to 80 years old, they were all obese and had another cardiovascular risk factor such as diabetes type 2, smoking habits, and physical inactivity.

Low-fat diets do not yield greater weight loss than other slimming regimes
Low-fat diets do not yield greater weight loss than other slimming regimes, said a study published in The Lancet. Image Credit: SamadiMD

Back then, the researchers separated the participants into three groups depending on what they were going to eat. The first group was to follow the Mediterranean diet with olive oil as a supplementary energy source while the second one stick to the same plan, but they used nuts as an extra calorie source. However, the last group had to limit their caloric intake serving as the control group. The time people were followed varies from 4 – 8 years, but the established average is five years.

Dr. Ramon Estruch, from the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Spain, and a group of Spanish specialists wanted to know how effective is for overweight people to reduce their caloric intake to lose weight. They used the data from the trials carried out by PREDIMED and isolated to measurements; body weight and waist circumference.

In the paper, Dr. Estruch and his team report that all of the groups recorded loss of weight and increased waist circumference. However, the two groups under the high caloric meal plan had better results than the ones reducing the amount of healthy fats on their plates.

“A long-term intervention with an unrestricted-calorie, high-vegetable-fat Mediterranean diet was associated with decreases in bodyweight and less gain in central adiposity compared with a control diet. These results lend support to advice not restricting intake of healthy fats for bodyweight maintenance.” The report reads.

Fitness trainers already knew about it

The paper containing the details was published on line on The Lancet on June 6, 2016
The paper containing the details of the pros and cons of low carb diets was published online in The Lancet on June 6, 2016. Image Credit: SCMP

For some people, the idea of eating fats to lose weight might seem revolutionary, but for a gym teacher, it’s just basics. Fitness specialists have been suggestion people who want to take up exercise and lose weight to eat more and better. A regular person under a moderate training regime will eat 4 to 8 times a day. The trick is in avoiding processed or saturated fats and get all the energy from natural and healthy sources such as fruits and grains.

The thing is fat is an amazing thing that is everywhere. Animals and plants alike use it as a source of energy. The love handles? That is store energy that the body keeps just in case. But there is more; the human brain uses fat to send electrical messages, and it also carries vitamins A, D, E and K through our bloodstream. Also, it keeps our skin healthy and helps to form necessary steroids that regulate vital body processes.

“Your body needs it in order to function,” says Barbara Roberts, MD, director of the Women’s Cardiac Center at the Miriam Hospital in Providence

Source: The Lancet