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ARS News Service
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
Rosalie Marion Bliss, (301) 504-4318, rbliss@ars.usda.gov
June 18, 2002
Posted
to this web site June 26, 2002
STORY LEAD:
High-Carbohydrate Diets Net Lower Calorie Levels
Agricultural Research Service scientists
have found that people whose diets are highest in carbohydrates
actually eat fewer calories per day and are less likely
to be obese than people who eat diets with higher levels
of fat and protein.
The study is based on a data analysis
of carbohydrate intakes from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals
for the years 1994-1996. The data is collected and managed
by ARS, USDA's chief scientific research agency.
The analysis showed that persons whose
diets were highest in carbohydrates not only consumed
200 to 300 fewer calories per day, but also had diets
higher in nutrients. The study's results are contrary
to some "fad diets" that emphasize decreasing
carbohydrate intakes while increasing protein and fat.
In the study, scientists divided a nationwide
pool of 10,014 people into four carbohydrate-intake
dietary patterns, from lowest to highest. People eating
the high-carbohydrate diet got 55 percent or more of
their calories from carbohydrates; in the lowest carbohydrate
diet, people consumed 30 percent or less of their calories
from carbohydrates. People eating the high- carbohydrate
diet were also more likely to meet the federal government's
Dietary Guidelines for Americans' recommendations for
both total fat (no more than 30 percent) and saturated
fat (no more than 10 percent).
The high-carbohydrate group had to eat
more food to get 1,000 calories than those in the low-carbohydrate
group because of the choices they made, according to
nutritionist and lead author Shanthy A. Bowman of ARS'
Community Nutrition Research Group, Beltsville, Md.
Those in the high-carbohydrate diet had
the highest fruit and fiber intake, and they made low-fat
choices from milk, meat, poultry and fish products.
They also had the lowest average body-mass index (BMI),
which indicates the percentage of fat in the body. As
a major health-risk factor, obesity has increased considerably
during the past 20 years.
The study appears in the June 2002 issue
of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.
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