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CNN Live Today

Interview With Diet Study Coauthor

Aired May 22, 2003 - 11:14   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: New scientific studies are adding weight to some of the claims behind a popular weight loss plan. The high protein, high fat Atkins diet has been ridiculed by many doctors, but what do these new studies say?
CNN Medical Correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is here with details in our "Daily Dose" of health news. Are these independent credible studies?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: These are independent studies. They were funded by the National Institutes of Health, and they were done at independent universities. They were not funded by Atkins. They were not funded by the people who don't like Atkins, none of that. And so, the question is, as you asked, does Atkins help you lose weight? Well, the answer is that it will help you lose weight, but it may not help you keep it off.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (voice-over): They are the most widely read diet books ever. Now, after three decades on the market, for the first time a study tries to answer the question, long term, does the high-protein Atkins diet work better than traditional diets?

The quick answer? No, according to the study authors. Short- term, Atkins was better. In the study, academics from several universities initially looked at 63 obese people who weighed, on average, 217 pounds. After six months, the dieters who went on Atkins -- they weren't supervised, they were just given a book, lost about 15 pounds each and the traditional low-fat group lost 7 pounds each.

But then, the difference narrowed. After one year, the Atkins group was 10 pounds lighter, and the low fat group five pounds lighter. The study authors say the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant because nearly half the participants dropped out.

One concern about Atkins has been that eating all that fat could raise your cholesterol, but the study found that's not true. The Atkins group actually had better levels of good cholesterol, and another blood fat called triglycerides.

(on camera): A commentary in the New England Journal of Medicine says that because of the high dropout rate, which is about the same for people on both diets, it is very hard to make any conclusions based on this study. It seems that many people started the diets and just couldn't finish. (voice-over): A familiar tale which leads one of the study's authors to conclude it doesn't matter so much which diet you choose.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I truly believe weight loss is possible, but it isn't quick, and it isn't easy. It takes some hard work, and it takes some time.

COHEN: Time, patience, and -- don't forget -- exercise. So two things to keep in mind. Different diets are better for different people, and the diet, no matter how good it is, only works if you stick to it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN: Many experts I talked to about this study said that this study is really a metaphor for dieting in America. People start out with great enthusiasm, but then, within a year, they've gone off the diet.

Now, we're going to continue our conversation about protein diets after a quick break. One of the coauthors of this study, Dr. Jim Hill, will be joining us, so stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COHEN: We now have with us here to talk about the Atkins diet and the study that's just come out in the "New England Journal," Dr. Jim Hill. He is with the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

Dr. Hill, my first question for you actually has to do with that e-mail that we just saw. Many people are going to see this study and say, Ah-ha, look at the numbers. The Atkins diet really is best. What's your opinion on that?

DR. JIM HILL, UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO: Well, if you just want to lose weight and keep it off for a short period of time, maybe the Atkins diet is best, but the real issue is what's the best diet to keep weight off in the long term? And unfortunately, we didn't find any difference at one year. So it may be better in the short run, but I think we still don't have any evidence that in the long run it's better than any of the other popular diets that have come along.

COHEN: And Dr. Hill, the e-mails are pouring in, questions for you. Let's take a look at our first e-mail for you. It asks, "What effect does the Atkins diet have on diabetes?" And that's from Deborah in Reston, Virginia. The Atkins diet and diabetes. Dr. Hill?

HILL: Well, we didn't look at that specifically. We found that both groups, both diet groups, improved their insulin sensitivity. So it should make people who have diabetes -- it should help it, and it should make people at risk less likely to get it. But there were no differences between diets. So what it suggests is it's the weight loss that's very important for both prevention and management of diabetes. COHEN: And there was the second study in the journal. Dr. Hill, I know you didn't write it, but that study was just on people with diabetes and other insulin problems. Can you talk a little bit about what they found?

HILL: Well, they actually found an improvement in insulin sensitivity. So, their study, which was conducted separately from ours, actually found that the Atkins diet again, in the short run, may be beneficial for preventing diabetes.

COHEN: OK. And let's go to our next e-mail. This one asks, "Are high-protein, high-fat diets safe for someone who is 200 pounds or more overweight?" In other words, "morbidly obese," although that is not necessarily morbidly obese. But that is from Les in Tyler, Texas. Dr. Hill.

HILL: That's a great question. That is really what we primarily interested in in the study. If you lose weight on the Atkins diet, is that a healthy way to lose weight or an unhealthy way? And maybe the surprising finding was it wasn't that unhealthy. In fact, your triglycerides and your good cholesterol tended to get better. Your bad cholesterol stayed the same. So any way to lose weight in someone like that, it seems to help risk factors.

Again, keep in mind it's not just losing the weight. You really want to keep it off, and we don't have any good data to suggest the Atkins diet is a great way to do that. But, yes, I think it's probably OK in the short run.

COHEN: All right. And Bridget has a question for you, Dr. Hill. Bridget wants to know, "Is there a certain amount of time you can be on the Atkins diet without taking a break from it? Also, what is a good amount of exercise to be getting while on this diet?"

HILL: Wow. Those are really great questions. And our study, which suggests that it may be a reasonable strategy to go on the Atkins diet short term, because at three months and six months, people were doing pretty good in terms of weight loss, on the Atkins diet, but not at a year. So that's actually a very good question, and it may be that this three or six-month period of time is OK, and then people may want to transition to a different diet.

With exercise, more is better, but you start out slowly. And I think walking is a fabulous exercise. So start out and increase the amount of time you walk each day. Walk an extra five minutes or ten minutes each day, and try to get to the point where you're walking at least an hour a day.

COHEN: Great. Dr. Hill, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and one of the coauthors of this study. Thank you very much. This study is sure to raise even more questions, perhaps.

COSTELLO: Interesting, though, isn't it?

COHEN: Very interesting.

COSTELLO: All right. Thank you, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired May 22, 2003 - 11:14   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: New scientific studies are adding weight to some of the claims behind a popular weight loss plan. The high protein, high fat Atkins diet has been ridiculed by many doctors, but what do these new studies say?
CNN Medical Correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is here with details in our "Daily Dose" of health news. Are these independent credible studies?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: These are independent studies. They were funded by the National Institutes of Health, and they were done at independent universities. They were not funded by Atkins. They were not funded by the people who don't like Atkins, none of that. And so, the question is, as you asked, does Atkins help you lose weight? Well, the answer is that it will help you lose weight, but it may not help you keep it off.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (voice-over): They are the most widely read diet books ever. Now, after three decades on the market, for the first time a study tries to answer the question, long term, does the high-protein Atkins diet work better than traditional diets?

The quick answer? No, according to the study authors. Short- term, Atkins was better. In the study, academics from several universities initially looked at 63 obese people who weighed, on average, 217 pounds. After six months, the dieters who went on Atkins -- they weren't supervised, they were just given a book, lost about 15 pounds each and the traditional low-fat group lost 7 pounds each.

But then, the difference narrowed. After one year, the Atkins group was 10 pounds lighter, and the low fat group five pounds lighter. The study authors say the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant because nearly half the participants dropped out.

One concern about Atkins has been that eating all that fat could raise your cholesterol, but the study found that's not true. The Atkins group actually had better levels of good cholesterol, and another blood fat called triglycerides.

(on camera): A commentary in the New England Journal of Medicine says that because of the high dropout rate, which is about the same for people on both diets, it is very hard to make any conclusions based on this study. It seems that many people started the diets and just couldn't finish. (voice-over): A familiar tale which leads one of the study's authors to conclude it doesn't matter so much which diet you choose.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I truly believe weight loss is possible, but it isn't quick, and it isn't easy. It takes some hard work, and it takes some time.

COHEN: Time, patience, and -- don't forget -- exercise. So two things to keep in mind. Different diets are better for different people, and the diet, no matter how good it is, only works if you stick to it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN: Many experts I talked to about this study said that this study is really a metaphor for dieting in America. People start out with great enthusiasm, but then, within a year, they've gone off the diet.

Now, we're going to continue our conversation about protein diets after a quick break. One of the coauthors of this study, Dr. Jim Hill, will be joining us, so stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COHEN: We now have with us here to talk about the Atkins diet and the study that's just come out in the "New England Journal," Dr. Jim Hill. He is with the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

Dr. Hill, my first question for you actually has to do with that e-mail that we just saw. Many people are going to see this study and say, Ah-ha, look at the numbers. The Atkins diet really is best. What's your opinion on that?

DR. JIM HILL, UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO: Well, if you just want to lose weight and keep it off for a short period of time, maybe the Atkins diet is best, but the real issue is what's the best diet to keep weight off in the long term? And unfortunately, we didn't find any difference at one year. So it may be better in the short run, but I think we still don't have any evidence that in the long run it's better than any of the other popular diets that have come along.

COHEN: And Dr. Hill, the e-mails are pouring in, questions for you. Let's take a look at our first e-mail for you. It asks, "What effect does the Atkins diet have on diabetes?" And that's from Deborah in Reston, Virginia. The Atkins diet and diabetes. Dr. Hill?

HILL: Well, we didn't look at that specifically. We found that both groups, both diet groups, improved their insulin sensitivity. So it should make people who have diabetes -- it should help it, and it should make people at risk less likely to get it. But there were no differences between diets. So what it suggests is it's the weight loss that's very important for both prevention and management of diabetes. COHEN: And there was the second study in the journal. Dr. Hill, I know you didn't write it, but that study was just on people with diabetes and other insulin problems. Can you talk a little bit about what they found?

HILL: Well, they actually found an improvement in insulin sensitivity. So, their study, which was conducted separately from ours, actually found that the Atkins diet again, in the short run, may be beneficial for preventing diabetes.

COHEN: OK. And let's go to our next e-mail. This one asks, "Are high-protein, high-fat diets safe for someone who is 200 pounds or more overweight?" In other words, "morbidly obese," although that is not necessarily morbidly obese. But that is from Les in Tyler, Texas. Dr. Hill.

HILL: That's a great question. That is really what we primarily interested in in the study. If you lose weight on the Atkins diet, is that a healthy way to lose weight or an unhealthy way? And maybe the surprising finding was it wasn't that unhealthy. In fact, your triglycerides and your good cholesterol tended to get better. Your bad cholesterol stayed the same. So any way to lose weight in someone like that, it seems to help risk factors.

Again, keep in mind it's not just losing the weight. You really want to keep it off, and we don't have any good data to suggest the Atkins diet is a great way to do that. But, yes, I think it's probably OK in the short run.

COHEN: All right. And Bridget has a question for you, Dr. Hill. Bridget wants to know, "Is there a certain amount of time you can be on the Atkins diet without taking a break from it? Also, what is a good amount of exercise to be getting while on this diet?"

HILL: Wow. Those are really great questions. And our study, which suggests that it may be a reasonable strategy to go on the Atkins diet short term, because at three months and six months, people were doing pretty good in terms of weight loss, on the Atkins diet, but not at a year. So that's actually a very good question, and it may be that this three or six-month period of time is OK, and then people may want to transition to a different diet.

With exercise, more is better, but you start out slowly. And I think walking is a fabulous exercise. So start out and increase the amount of time you walk each day. Walk an extra five minutes or ten minutes each day, and try to get to the point where you're walking at least an hour a day.

COHEN: Great. Dr. Hill, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and one of the coauthors of this study. Thank you very much. This study is sure to raise even more questions, perhaps.

COSTELLO: Interesting, though, isn't it?

COHEN: Very interesting.

COSTELLO: All right. Thank you, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com