Pardon my ignorance, but what is an "ad libitum" condition as regards a
diet?  It is my understanding that "ad libitum" means "freely".  So are we
talking about eating freely but low-fat?  Because if we are, I can tell you
that this study is just a little suspicious to me.  Perhaps the cholesterol
numbers are not (I am not a biologist and am unqualified to judge), but I
can tell you that from personal experience, "low-fat" does not mean weight
loss in an overweight individual unless you combine it with "low-calorie",
and in my case, you're talking extremely low-calorie, like as in under 1000
per day.  (I am unclear as to whether the people in the study were very
overweight or not.)  Low-fat foods are higher in starches and sugars and
make me gain weight if eaten in any but the most restrictive manner.
 Unless I'm wrong about the meaning of "ad libitum", this is just more of
the establishment propaganda we are trying to get out from under.  (And if
I am wrong, I apologize for the confusion.)

Who do these researchers work for?  Or more precisely, where did the
funding for this study originate?

John Pavao
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Schaefer EJ, Lichtenstein AH, Lamon-Fava S, McNamara JR,
Schaefer MM, Rasmussen H, Ordovas JM

OBJECTIVE--To assess the effects of a diet restricted in fat, saturated
fat, and cholesterol, under weight-maintenance and ad libitum
conditions on body weight and plasma lipid levels in
hypercholesterolemic subjects. DESIGN--Dietary intervention study.