AJM theme issue: Obesity and diabetesClinical research studyThe effects of a low-fat, plant-based dietary intervention on body weight, metabolism, and insulin sensitivity
Section snippets
Methods
The study methods have been reported.6, 7 Briefly, 64 overweight or obese (body mass index [BMI] = 26-44 kg/m2) postmenopausal women were recruited through newspaper advertisements in the Washington, DC, area. Premenopausal women were excluded because of possible hormonal effects on metabolic measures.8 Additional exclusionary criteria included unstable medical status, history of eating disorder or substance abuse, severe mental illness, previously diagnosed diabetes, physical conditions
Results
Of the 64 volunteers meeting the participation criteria, 59 completed the study (Table 1). One intervention group participant did not begin the diet, and 2 participants dropped out during the trial. (One could not attend meetings, and the other did not want to continue the diet.) Two control group participants dropped out, both for unspecified reasons. None of the differences between the groups or between completers and noncompleters in baseline body weight or any demographic, anthropometric,
Discussion
Adoption of an ad libitum low-fat, vegan diet in postmenopausal women was associated with a mean weight loss of 5.8 kg in 14 weeks, or 0.4 kg per week, which was significantly greater than that associated with the control diet. This magnitude of weight loss is similar to that observed with reduced-energy (eg, 1200 kcal/day) diets,20 but occurred with no prescribed portion sizes, limits on energy intake, or exercise requirement.
The increased fiber intake and reduced fat intake of the vegan diet
Acknowledgment
The authors thank Paul Poppen, PhD, for the statistical analyses.
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The study was funded by The Cancer Project, Washington, DC.