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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #64433
Title: SHORT-TERM CONSUMPTION OF A LOW-FAT DIET BENEFICIALLY AFFECTS PLASMA LIPID CONCENTRATIONS ONLY WHEN ACCOMPANIED BY WEIGHT LOSS

Author
item LICHTENSTEIN, ALICE - TUFTS-HNRCA
item AUSMAN, LYNNE - TUFTS-HNRCA
item CARRASCO, WANDA - TUFTS-HNRCA
item JENNER, JENNIFER - TUFTS-HNRCA
item ORDOVAS, JOSE - TUFTS-HNRCA
item SCHAEFER, ERNST - TUFTS-HNRCA

Submitted to: Arteriosclerosis and Thrombosis
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/5/1994
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: The effect of an extremely low fat diet with and without weight loss on blood lipid levels was investigated in subjects 40 years of age or older with moderately high blood cholesterol levels. Subjects consumed a diet designed to approximate that currently consumed in the United States, a diet meeting National Cholesterol Expert Panel (NCEP) Step 2 guidelines (

Technical Abstract: Study subjects (6 women and 5 men) over the age of 40 years with fasting low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations >130 mg/dL were studied during three 5-week diet phases and one 10-week phase: baseline (36% fat: 13% saturated fatty acids [SFA], 12% monounsaturated fatty acids [MUFA], 8% polyunsaturated fatty acids [PUFA], and 128 mg cholesterol/1000 kcal); reduced fat (29% fat: 7% SFA, 9% MUFA, 11% PUFA, and 85 mg cholesterol/1000 kcal); and two low fat (15% fat: 5% SFA, 5% MUFA, 3% PUFA, and 73 mg cholesterol/1000 kcal). Body weight was maintained during the first three 5-week phases (baseline, reduced fat, and low fat [ energy[) and decreased during the last 10-week phase when the low- fat diet was provided such that the subjects determined, in part, their caloric intake (low fat [reduced energy]) diets, respectively. Triglyceride concentrations increased from 110+/-32 to 115+/-31 (8%), 188+/-76 (75%), and 130+/-32 (22%) mg/dL when the subjects consumed the reduced-fat, low-fat, and low-fat (reduced energy) diets, respectively. Maximal changes in plasma lipid concentrations were observed after the first five weeks of the low- fat (reduced energy) diet phase despite continued weight loss throughout the entire 10-week diet period. These data suggest that very-low-fat diets (15% of calories) beneficially affect plasma lipid profiles relative to the baseline (36% of calories) or reduced-fat (29% of calories) diets only when accompanied by weight loss.