PHILADELPHIA, March 14 (UPI) -- Pennsylvania researchers say the pounds melt so quickly on low-carbohydrate diets because overeating is fueled by carbohydrates.
"When carbohydrates were restricted, study subjects spontaneously reduced their caloric intake to a level appropriate for their height, did not compensate by eating more protein or fat, and lost weight," said lead researcher Dr. Guenther Boden. "We concluded that excessive overeating had been fueled by carbohydrates."
Boden wanted to examine how low-carbohydrate diets, which have been shown to produce rapid weight loss, affected weight, appetite and blood sugar in obese diabetics.
He discovered that study subjects did not eat less because they were bored with the food selection, and their weight loss was not attributable to water loss -- two common speculations about low-carb diets, nor was it explained by a change in metabolism.
The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found 10 obese patients with type 2 diabetes limited to 20 grams carbohydrates per day spontaneously reduced their daily energy consumption by 1,000 calories a day.
Boden warns that the long term effects of low-carbohydrate diets are not known.
