A low-calorie, low-fat diet appears more beneficial to dieters’ mood than a low-carbohydrate plan with the same number of calories, according to a report in the this week’s issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

“While recent clinical studies have shown that low-carbohydrate diets can be an effective alternative dietary approach for weight loss, their long-term effects on psychological function, including mood and cognition, have been poorly studied,” explain the study’s authors.

The experiment enrolled 106 overweight and obese participants who were an average age of 50. Of these, 55 were assigned to follow a very–low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet and 51 to a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet. Both diets included the same amount of calories.

After one year, the overall average weight loss was 13.7 kilograms (about 30.2 pounds), with no difference between the two groups. Both groups initially (after the first eight weeks) experienced an improvement in mood. However, most measurements of mood revealed a lasting improvement in only those following the low-fat diet, while those on the high-fat diet returned to their initial levels.

Archives of Internal Medicine – November 9, 2009 ;169:1873-80.
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/