Slim pickings

摘要

"All my friends are on the Atkins diet, and they're losing weight like crazy. Would this be a good thing for me or not?" Four years ago, Dena Bravata, a physician at Stanford University in California, could only stare blankly at her querying patient. She was aware of the popular low-carbohydrate diet, but she didn't have a clue what to suggest. "That's what motivated me to do a study," Bravata says. "I had lots of patients all asking me the same question." So Bravata called her twin sister Dawn at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. After roping in further colleagues, they began scouring the scientific literature as far back as 1966 for papers addressing the efficacy and safety of low-carbohydrate diets. In April last year, the researchers revealed the results of this systematic review, which should provide those embracing the Atkins craze with food for thought. They couldn't find any evidence that diets containing low proportions of carbohydrates were more effective. Consuming fewer calories overall, and sticking with a diet for a long time, were the only significant factors for slimming success.