title: Fad diets and obesity--Part IV: Low-carbohydrate vs. low-fat diets.
abstract: The first three parts of this series of articles covered the basics of some of the more popular low-carbohydrate diets, and the theories behind them. In the fourth and final part of this series, some of the more popular low-fat and low-calorie diets, such as the Ornish diet and Weight Watchers, are covered briefly. Recently, several clinical trials of longer duration that compared low-carbohydrate versus low-fat diets have been published. These studies demonstrate that some of the low-carbohydrate diets result in reduced weight in the short-term, but their ability to reduce weight long-term any better than low-fat or other diets has been questioned. Most popular or fad diets have some positive messages contained within them and some preliminary positive short-term results, but overall the compliance rates with any fad diet are very poor over the long-term. The decision to go on any diet should be made with a health professional who can monitor the patient closely.
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan Medical Center, Department of Urology, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Moyad
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D004033:Diet Fads; D018752:Diet, Fat-Restricted; D004038:Diet, Reducing; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002149:Energy Intake; D015444:Exercise; D006801:Humans; D052756:Nutritional Sciences / Q000193:education; D009765:Obesity / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D015431:Weight Loss
chemical_list: D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates