Low-fat weight loss interventions can be effective at reducing mortality among obese people, according to a new Scottish analysis.
The findings support the benefits of low-fat diets, which in recent years have been questioned by advocates of low-carbohydrate diets.
Professor Alison Avenell and colleagues at the University of Aberdeen, UK, analysed 54 previous randomised controlled trials assessing weight loss interventions for obesity and all cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and body weight.
The trials included 30,206 participants. All but one used low fat, weight reducing diets. Overall, weight loss interventions decreased all-cause mortality by 18%. There also appeared to be a beneficial effect on cardiovascular mortality and cancer mortality.
Full details appear in BMJ today (15 November).
The authors write: "We did not have sufficient data to examine whether other types of diet or physical activity influence outcomes or whether certain groups in the population are more or less likely to benefit.
"The majority of trials of weight loss interventions for obesity in adults have used low fat, weight reducing diets. But a recent systematic review found that low carbohydrate weight reducing diets were more effective for weight loss than low fat, weight reducing diets.
"By implication our data support public health measures to prevent weight gain and facilitate weight loss using low fat, weight reducing diets. This evidence provides a further reason for weight reducing diets to be offered alongside their already proven benefits, such as type 2 diabetes prevention."
Ma, C. et al. Effects of weight loss interventions for adults who are obese on mortality, cardiovascular disease, and cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ 15 November 2017; doi: 10.1136/bmj.j4849 [abstract]
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