10 Nov Vegan Dieters Lost the Most Weight
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Brie Turner-McGrievy, Ph.D., M.S., R.D.
Assistant Professor
University of South Carolina; Arnold School of Public Health
Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior
Columbia, SC 29208
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Turner-McGrievy: Several observational studies have examined differences in weight-related outcomes among individuals following vegan, vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian, semi-vegetarian, or omnivorous diets. These studies have found lower body weights and less weight gain over time among vegans as compared to other groups. However, no randomized controlled trials have tested the relationship between these diets and body weight. So the goal of our study was to determine the effect of varying plant-based diets on weight loss. Our study found that a similar relationship of weight loss was found among the five diet groups that has been observed in epidemiological studies, with weight loss going from greatest in the vegan group followed by vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian, semi-vegetarian, and omnivorous. At six months, the vegan group lost significantly more weight (-7.5 ± 4.5%) than the omnivorous (-3.1 ± 3.6%, P=0.03), semi-vegetarian (-3.2 ± 3.8%, P=0.03), and pesco-vegetarian (-3.2 ± 3.4%, P=0.03) groups.
Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Dr. Turner-McGrievy: Our traditional weight loss approaches emphasize calorie reduction by encouraging people to self-monitor their diets. This involves daily tracking of energy intake, which can be burdensome for individuals. Also, people on low calorie diets often report being hungry. Plant-based dietary approaches, such as vegan diets, can allow individuals to eat when they are hungry and until they are full, without having to track calories. This type of approach may appeal to patients who are resistant to dietary self-monitoring.
Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Dr. Turner-McGrievy: We hope to do a larger trial with longer-term follow-up. This will help provide additional power to assess differences among the groups and will also allow us to study dietary maintenance. In addition, we hope to measure changes in biological markers such as lipids, glucose, and markers of inflammation.
Citation:
Nutrition
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2014.09.002
Last Updated on November 10, 2014 by Marie Benz MD FAAD