Contrary to previous claims a study states that post-menopausal women who cut their fat intake and eat more high-fibre, high-carbohydrate foods such as fruits and whole grains tend to lose weight.
The study comes after some popular diet plans blame high-carbohydrate diets weight gain and increasing of obesity rates.The results come from a seven-year study of 19,000 women who followed a low-fat diet without any weight-loss goals. In the first year, they shed an average of 2.2kg and maintained a modest weight loss in succeeding years.
"A low-fat dietary pattern may help attenuate the tendency for weight gain commonly observed in post-menopausal women," according to the study.
Barbara Howard of the MedStar Research Institute in Washington, lead author said, “The results "demonstrate that long-term recommendations to achieve a diet lower in total and saturated fat with increased consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and without focus on weight loss, do not cause weight gain."
The main aim of a low fat diet is to protect the heart.
