title: Food preferences and weight change during low-fat and low-carbohydrate diets.
abstract: Understanding associations between food preferences and weight loss during various effective diets could inform efforts to personalize dietary recommendations and provide insight into weight loss mechanisms. We conducted a secondary analysis of data from a clinical trial in which participants were randomized to either a 'choice' arm, in which they were allowed to select between a low-fat diet (n = 44) or low-carbohydrate diet (n = 61), or to a 'no choice' arm, in which they were randomly assigned to a low-fat diet (n = 49) or low-carbohydrate diet (n = 53). All participants were provided 48 weeks of lifestyle counseling. Food preferences were measured at baseline and every 12 weeks thereafter with the Geiselman Food Preference Questionnaire. Participants were 73% male and 51% African American, with a mean age of 55. Baseline food preferences, including congruency of food preferences with diet, were not associated with weight outcomes. In the low-fat diet group, no associations were found between changes in food preferences and weight over time. In the low-carbohydrate diet group, increased preference for low-carbohydrate diet congruent foods from baseline to 12 weeks was associated with weight loss from 12 to 24 weeks. Additionally, weight loss from baseline to 12 weeks was associated with increased preference for low-carbohydrate diet congruent foods from 12 to 24 weeks. Results suggest that basing selection of low-carbohydrate diet or low-fat diet on food preferences is unlikely to influence weight loss. Congruency of food preferences and weight loss may influence each other early during a low-carbohydrate diet but not low-fat diet, possibly due to different features of these diets.
  
  
  
  NCT01152359.
authors.affiliation: Division of Behavioral Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States; Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States. Electronic address: megan.mcvay@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Megan A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: McVay
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States; Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States.
authors.forename: Corrine I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Voils
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, United States; Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, United States.
authors.forename: Paula J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Geiselman
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States; Department of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States.
authors.forename: Valerie A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States; Department of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States.
authors.forename: Cynthia J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Coffman
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States; Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States.
authors.forename: William S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Yancy
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D001835:Body Weight; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003710:Demography; D050528:Diet, Carbohydrate-Restricted; D018752:Diet, Fat-Restricted; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D015431:Weight Loss
keywords: Food preferences; Low-carbohydrate diet; Low-fat diet