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Health Groups Dispute Low Fat Study Findings

February 15, 2006

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Don't super-size those fries just yet. Health advocates say a widely-publicized study released last week should not be taken to mean that a low-fat diet isn't healthy.

The Women's Health Initiative study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found no evidence that a low-fat diet protects against cancer in post-menopausal women. But many researchers, physicians and nutrition experts are poking holes in the conclusions.

The Healthy Living Academies, for one, is saying its analysis of the study finds that it provides no relevant information about the optimal diet for weight loss, particularly for young people.

According to Daniel S. Kirschenbaum, Ph.D., Clinical Director of Healthy Living Academies, and a professor at Northwestern University Medical School, said that while many aspects of the study's methodology were excellent, the study's results in no way suggest that very low-fat diets are not extremely effective for weight loss and long-term weight control.

"First of all, this was not a particularly low-fat diet," said Kirschenbaum.

"In the WHI's final assessment, more than 85% of participants failed to consume the targeted level of fat consumption (20%) which, even if they had matched that standard, is still twice as high as the optimal level of fat consumption for weight control (10% or less). On average, the WHI participants, who were overweight but were NOT trying to lose weight in this research, reported eating approximately 29% of calories from fat which isn't materially different than the average American intake of 34%."

Kirschenbaum cautioned the media to resist exaggerating the results of the WHI, especially with regard to children, adolescents and young adults who are struggling with their weight.

He said the study focused on post-menopausal women ages 50-79, with an average age of 62. The participants had been consuming a moderate or high-fat diet for their entire lives.

"It's unrealistic to expect significant improvements in health from such a minimal intervention that clearly failed to achieve its own modest goals. This is truly a case of too little, too late yielding not much," he said.

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