Vegetarian diets may help people lose more weight than conventional diet
A new study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition suggests that vegetarians lose weight more effectively and improve their metabolism by reducing muscle fat compared to low-calorie dieters.
A new study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition suggests that vegetarians lose weight more effectively and improve their metabolism by reducing muscle fat compared to low-calorie dieters. The study consisted of 74 people with type 2 diabetes who were randomly selected to follow a vegetarian diet or a conventional anti-diabetic diet.
Participants on the vegetarian diet ate mostly vegetables, grains, legumes, fruits, and nuts with animal products limited to one low-fat yogurt per day. The conventional diet followed recommendations from the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to study adipose tissue in participants’ thighs to see how the two different diets affected subcutaneous, subfascial, and intramuscular fat.
They found that the vegetarian diet was nearly twice as effective at reducing body weight with an average weight loss of 14 lb compared to 7 lb on the conventional diet. While both diets had a similar reduction in subcutaneous fat, the subfascial fat was only reduced in the vegetarian diet and intramuscular fat was more greatly reduced in the vegetarian diet.
“Vegetarian diets proved to be the most effective diets for weight loss,” said study author Hana Kahleova, director of clinical research at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. “However, we also showed that a vegetarian diet is much more effective at reducing muscle fat, thus improving metabolism. This finding is important for people who are trying to lose weight, including those suffering from metabolic syndrome and/or type 2 diabetes. But it is also relevant to anyone who takes their weight management seriously and wants to stay lean and healthy.”