Less favourable biological effects of a high-fat Atkins diet compared to South Beach and Ornish diet during weight maintenance phase
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Few studies have evaluated the biological impact of various weight-losing diets during the weight maintenance phase. To examine this issue, three popular diets (Atkins, South Beach and Ornish) were compared using a randomized and counterbalanced crossover design. Eighteen adults completed each of the three 4-week isocaloric dietary intervention phases followed by a 4-week washout period. Caloric adjustments were made if weekly weight change exceeded 1 kg. Compared to prediet baseline, there were significant reductions in LDL cholesterol levels during the South Beach and Ornish maintenance phases. In contrast to the Atkins maintenance phase, significant reductions in LDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B levels were observed after the South Beach and Ornish maintenance phases. Moreover, brachial artery testing showed an inverse relationship between flow-mediated vasodilatation and intake of saturated fat. In this small scale study, a high-fat Atkins-type diet was associated with certain less favourable biological markers during weight maintenance than South Beach and Ornish diets.
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