Abstract
Purpose
This study investigated the effect of a low-fat, plant-based diet on body weight,
metabolism, and insulin sensitivity, while controlling for exercise in free-living
individuals.
Subjects and methods
In an outpatient setting, 64 overweight, postmenopausal women were randomly assigned
to a low-fat, vegan diet or a control diet based on National Cholesterol Education
Program guidelines, without energy intake limits, and were asked to maintain exercise
unchanged. Dietary intake, body weight and composition, resting metabolic rate, thermic
effect of food, and insulin sensitivity were measured at baseline and 14 weeks.
Results
Mean ± standard deviation intervention-group body weight decreased 5.8 ± 3.2 kg, compared
with 3.8 ± 2.8 kg in the control group (P = .012). In a regression model of predictors of weight change, including diet group
and changes in energy intake, thermic effect of food, resting metabolic rate, and
reported energy expenditure, significant effects were found for diet group (P < .05), thermic effect of food (P < .05), and resting metabolic rate (P < .001). An index of insulin sensitivity increased from 4.6 ± 2.9 to 5.7 ± 3.9 (P = .017) in the intervention group, but the difference between groups was not significant
(P = .17).
Conclusion
Adoption of a low-fat, vegan diet was associated with significant weight loss in overweight
postmenopausal women, despite the absence of prescribed limits on portion size or
energy intake.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
March 31,
2005
Received in revised form:
March 31,
2005
Received:
March 9,
2004
Footnotes
The study was funded by The Cancer Project, Washington, DC.
Identification
Copyright
© 2005 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
