Most of you heard about the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), whether or not you realize it. If you are post-menopausal and stopped using your estrogen patches because of the increased risk of breast cancer, this is the group of women that provided the data. More than one study was done in the WHI. Besides the postmenopausal hormone trial, there was the calcium plus Vitamin D trial, and most importantly, there was the low-fat diet trial.

This particular slice of WHI followed 48, 000 women over the age of 50 from 1993 to 2005. Half were asked to follow a low-fat diet, and the other half were asked to follow their usual diet. So, how did the low-fat diet women fare over the long-haul?

The half who were asked to go on a low-fat diet, aimed for 20% of of their calories to come from fat. The low-fat group was also told to eat 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables everyday, as well as 6 servings of grains. There were group meetings with nutrition and behavior modification training in the low-fat group, but basically, everyone was on their own.

After 8 years, the women in the low-fat group did not have a decreased risk of diabetes. Fortunately, they did not have an increased risk of diabetes either: it was a concern since high-carbohydrate diets may increase someone’s risk of diabetes. Weight loss, regardless of the group, was associated with a lower risk of developing diabetes.

On average, the women in the low-fat group weighed 2 pounds less than the group eating their normal diet at the end of eight years. Two pounds after eight year of dieting!  Not much of a diet in my opinion. (There have been other studies showing low-fat diets can result weight loss, but only when the diet includes an exercise program.)

So, do low-fat diets reduce your risk of diabetes?  No, low-fat diets do not lower you risk of developing diabetes. Losing weight reduces your chances of developing diabetes. There is nothing magic about a low-fat diet.

If you are interested in reading more about how the whole low-fat craze came about, this article by Gary Taubes is educational and fascinating.  It may be more information than you prepared to digest, but it may free you from your guilt if you feel like eating a piece of cheese. http://www.nasw.org/awards/2001/01Taubesarticle1.htm

*Tinker, LF, et al. Low-Fat Dietary Pattern and Risk of Treated Diabetes Mellitus in Post-menopausal Women: The Women’s Health Initiative Randomized Controlled Dietary Modification Trial. Arch Intern Med/Vol 168 (No14), July 28, 2008

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