Source
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, United States. fabricat@mail.med.upenn.edu
Abstract
AIMS:
To compare the effects of lifestyle modification programs that prescribe low-glycemic load (GL) vs. low-fat diets in a randomized trial.
METHODS:
Seventy-nine obese adults with type 2 diabetes received low-fat or low-GL dietary instruction, delivered in 40-week lifestyle modification programs with identical goals for calorie intake and physical activity. Changes in weight, HbA(1c), and other metabolic parameters were compared at weeks 20 and 40.
RESULTS:
Weight loss did not differ between groups at week 20 (low-fat: -5.7±3.7%; low-GL: -6.7±4.4%, p=.26) or week 40 (low-fat: -4.5±7.5%; low-GL: -6.4±8.2%, p=.28). Adjusting for changes in antidiabetic medications, subjects on the low-GL diet had larger reductions in HbA(1c) than those on the low-fat diet at week 20 (low-fat: -0.3±0.6%; low-GL: -0.7±0.6%, p=.01), and week 40 (low-fat: -0.1±1.2%; low-GL: -0.8±1.3%; p=.01). Groups did not differ significantly on any other metabolic outcomes (p≥.06).
CONCLUSIONS:
Results suggest that targeting GL, rather than dietary fat, in a low-calorie diet can significantly enhance the effect of weight loss on HbA(1c) in patients with type 2 diabetes.
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