Is fat the culprit of obesity? A low-fat diet won’t make you lose weight! Study: Carbohydrates are the key

Losing weight requires controlling your diet, and many people avoid consuming too much fat. But can a low-fat diet really help you lose weight? Over the past 40 years, most people have agreed with the view that fat is the main cause of obesity. However, a research report published in the authoritative journal "New England Journal of Medicine" expressed a different view. Some fitness coaches even conducted personal experiments and found that a low-fat diet actually increased weight.

According to the British Daily Mail, a report published in the New England Journal of Medicine (BMC Medicine) stated that the low-fat, high-carbohydrate weight loss method is outdated. Carbohydrates are sometimes the key to obesity because carbohydrates promote the body's secretion of insulin. The more insulin the body produces, the easier it is to store fat.

Should I eat high-fat or low-fat to lose weight? Fitness trainer's personal experiment

In addition, a British personal fitness trainer named Sam also conducted an experiment on himself. In his experimental plan, he set the daily calorie intake at an average of 5,000 calories. However, he implemented a low-fat and high-carbohydrate diet in the first three weeks, and changed to a higher-fat, low-carbohydrate diet in the other three weeks; but the total calories were the same.

Should I eat high-fat or low-fat to lose weight? Fitness trainer's personal experiment

Logically speaking, if gaining weight is due to too high calories, then both diets should result in the same amount of weight gain. However, the experimental results found that the low-fat diet made him gain 16 pounds (about 7kg) and his waist circumference increased by 3.7 inches (9.5cm); but in the three weeks of high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet, he only gained 2.5 pounds (1.3kg) and his waist circumference even decreased by 1 inch (2.5cm).

Carbohydrates may increase cholesterol risk

Experiments have shown that the amount of fat in the diet is not the only factor causing obesity; instead, excessive carbohydrate intake is the key factor affecting body shape. In addition to the changes in weight and body shape, Sam later underwent a physical examination and found that after three weeks of a high-carbohydrate diet, the triglycerides in his blood increased by 4 times, while the good cholesterol HDL also decreased, indicating that carbohydrates have a significant impact on cholesterol levels and human metabolism.

Carbohydrates may increase cholesterol risk

Past studies have found that refined carbohydrates stimulate insulin secretion, increase hunger, reduce energy used for metabolism and physical activity, and even lead to the risk of heart disease and chronic diseases. In addition, the reason why fat has become something people fear and dare not eat is that its calories are much higher than carbohydrates. If you only look at the calories, you will naturally think that eating fat will make you fat.

However, in fact, many products on the market that claim to be low-fat use sugar, salt and artificial additives to replace the taste and flavor of fat, which actually increases the risk of obesity. Therefore, when choosing food, we cannot just look at a single nutrient or calorie. The most ideal diet for losing weight and maintaining body shape is to eat more protein and fat and less carbohydrates.