On Thu, 19 Oct 2000, Dori Zook wrote: > Her basic conclusion is that "weight loss is independent of dietary > composition" (her words). Translation; it's the calories, stupid. However, > a few sentences later, she admitted that "people who 'self-select' low-carb > diets tend to reduce energy intake"(her words). This literally means they > eat less calories. Somebody should also tell her to look at the few studies that track *fat* loss, as opposed to just weight loss. Indeed, if the USDA study doesn't do that it is worthless. It is body composition changes that we should be after. Her "self-selection" point may be valid, however. The people who self-select low-carb diets may do so because they instinctively feel better on them, and thus have better appetite control. A similar phenomenon may be at work with other kinds of diets, where self-selection is involved. > Have you done the math yet? She admitted more than once that studies have > shown the benefits of a meat-based diet (lower triglycerides, for one) and > that people who use them eat fewer calories, overall, than those who don't. > Yet she endorsed AHA dietary guidelines which tout the benefits of high > complex carb intake. Do with it what you wish. Obviously she's going to argue that whatever value low-carb diets have is mainly a result of caloric reduction. She thinks you can get comparable or better results from the same caloric reduction in a higher-carb diet. She chooses to ignore the variable of the difficulty of sustaining the caloric reduction (for some people) on the higher-carb diet. Todd Moody [log in to unmask]