For and Against: Atkins Diet, Statin Drugs, Diuretics for Blood Pressure

Here's a great "for and against" article regarding the Atkins low-carb diet and other fitness-related topics:

(Newsweek Health) - Science is the foundation of good medicine, but it rarely offers complete or perfect answers. Doctors examining the same evidence may differ sharply on how best to promote health or treat illness. In this forum, Harvard experts stake out opposing positions on three open questions.

DOES ATKINS MAKE SENSE?

Yes: I have long doubted that cutting carbs is the key to losing weight, as proponents of the Atkins diet claim. But recent evidence has forced me to reconsider. I’m still not convinced that the Atkins approach is more effective or more healthful than others, but I now believe it can help overweight people shed pounds.

What changed my mind was a spate of new studies comparing the Atkins diet with low-fat or low-calorie regimens. In the first study, involving 79 overweight people, those on Atkins lost 13 pounds over six months, while those on the American Heart Association diet lost only four. In the second study, obese women shed 15.4 pounds by counting carbs for six months but only seven by counting calories and fat. The third study compared Atkins with three other popular diets (Ornish, Weight Watchers and the Zone), and found that all four brought significant weight loss over a year’s time. Atkins worked no better than the other diets—but it worked.

These studies tell us nothing about long-term weight management. We know only that Atkins can work as a short-term strategy. But the findings support a central tenet of the low-carb faith: that a relatively fatty diet may help you lose weight because it makes food more satisfying and filling.

—Anthony L. Komaroff, M.D.

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