Cutting Fat Reduces Body Fat Better Than Cutting Carbs

Reducing fat in your diet is better for weight loss than restricting carbohydrates, according to a new study published by the National Institutes of Health. Researchers monitored the diets of 19 obese men and women at the Metabolic Clinical Research Unit at NIH headquarters in Bethesda, Md. Participants stayed at NIH for two two-week periods. They ate a diet that restricted calories by reducing total fat on one visit and total carbohydrates on the other visit. Reducing dietary fat resulted in a 68 percent higher rate of body fat loss and caused more total body fat loss in participants compared to the carbohydrate-restricted diet. Since participants lost more fat by reducing their intake of dietary fat, this study challenges the idea that insulin levels need to change in order to burn more body fat.