Study knocks back hopes of using genetics to design weight-loss diets.
In a 609-person, year-long study, dieters lost an average of about 12 pounds—regardless of whether they were trying to stick to a low-fat or a low-carb diet and regardless of whether they carried genetic variations linked to success on one of those diets.
The lackluster finding, published by Stanford researchers this week in JAMA, knocks back hopes that we’re at the point of harnessing genetic information to tighten our waistlines. Previous studies had whetted dieter’s appetites for the idea, picking out specific blips in metabolic genes that appeared to help explain why some people easily shed poundage on a given diet, while others struggled. Biotech companies have even begun serving up DNA tests that claim to help hungry dieters pair their menus with their biological blueprints.
But according to the new study, that order isn’t up yet.
The authors, led by nutrition researcher Christopher Gardner, enrolled 609 participants, who were aged 18 to 50 and had body mass indexes from 28 to 40 (spanning overweight to extreme obesity), with a mean of 33 (obese) and an average weight of around 212 pounds. Of those, 305 participants were randomly assigned to eat a “healthy low-fat diet” for a year, while the remaining 304 were assigned a “healthy low-carbohydrate diet.”
The dieters weren’t strictly monitored or required to stick to a rigid plan. Instead, they were offered 22 hour-long classes led by registered dietitians on how to follow their assigned diet without feeling deprived, as well as general advice on healthy eating.
” It’s certainly long enough. The key takeaways, alas, are that there are no magical foods and no secret diet that really works. On the other hand, you don’t need to do juice cleanses, fasting, and other weird practices, either.
. You might hear stories from friends who followed one diet and lost weight with it. One diet works great for one person but may not work for the other.
