What is the best diet for losing weight?

The small study of about 140 overweight or obese women showed that those on diets "appropriate" for their genetic makeup lost more weight than those on less appropriate diets, researchers told an American Heart Association meeting.

"The potential of using genetic information to achieve this magnitude of weight loss without pharmaceutical intervention would be important in helping to solve the pervasive problem of excessive weight in our society," Christopher Gardner at Stanford University in California, who worked on the study, said in a statement.

Massachusetts-based Interleukin's $149 test looks for mutations in three genes, known as FABP2, PPARG and ADRB2.

The company says 39 percent of white Americans have the low-fat genotype, 45 percent have the type that responds best to a diet low in processed carbohydrates and an unlucky 16 percent have gene mutations that mean they have to watch both fat and processed carbohydrates.

The researchers randomly assigned around 140 women to one of four diets -- the low-carb Atkins diet, the ultra low-fat Ornish diet, the very low-fat LEARN diet or the more balanced Zone diet.

Interleukin went back and tested about 100 of the women for their DNA by using a cheek swab and then looked to see if the women on the "right" diets lost more weight.

MOST EFFECTIVE MATCHES

Over a year, people on diets appropriate to their genetic makeup, as determined by the test, lost 5.3 percent of body weight. People on mismatched diets lost 2.3 percent, the Stanford researchers told the meeting.

Cholesterol levels improved in line with weight loss, they said.

The company said the test looks for genes that affect metabolism.

"One of the gene variations affects absorption of fats from the intestine," Ken Kornman, chief scientific officer at Interleukin, said in a telephone interview. He said people with that particular mutation absorb more fat from their food and thus should avoid fat if they want to lose weight.

Another of the variations affects insulin response -- the body's production of insulin to metabolize sugar, he said. Simple carbohydrates such as sugar and processed flour stimulate people with that particular gene type to store more of the energy as fat.

Ten percent to 16 percent of people have both mutations, and must watch both carbs and fat, Kornman said.

"What we don't know is if they are on the right diet for their genotype whether it affects satiety or feeling full," he said. He said the company planned broader studies to ask these questions.

Interleukin markets the test under the brand name Inherent Health. It also can test who might best lose weight in response to exercise.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6224UV20100304

Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right.... ~Henry Ford

That's sounds boring compared to matching your cardio and lifting to your blood type. Or eating special grains that magically reduce your bodyfat. I guess we decided a long time ago that we (general population, present company excluded) don't want to work hard on our physiques and we want to eat as much as we can without throwing up.

Okay, I'm stepping off of the soap box now.

"If you're going to have a big butt, have a GREAT big butt!" - Gin Miller

That being said--of course if you take in clean calories your body will be healthier.

And there are others who can start exercising and lose weight like it's the easiest thing in the world.

Losing weight isn't always easy for everyone, and I've known people who do all the right things, do eat clean and exercise right and they really struggle to lose weight.

Calories in - calories out is a good rule of thumb, but it's not a hard and fast rule.

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**snicker snicker**

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I agree with you to a point Andy on some people have a more difficult time, however, long term commitment to your goals will result in weight loss.

It's when you start and stop and start and stop and start and stop...aka yo-yo dieting that gets an already sluggish metabolism in such bad shape that it takes longer to see results but eventually they will come.

Personally, this is one of my motivators for achieving a lengthy lifespan --- I'm waiting for the Jetsons technology where we can just eat a pill for a meal.

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Agree. I don't want to sound crude but how come there were no fat people on concentration camps? I might agree that there are diets we react better to, but the difference is in how much they satiate us with less food. No kind of magical mutation is going the change the laws of physics. If low-carb is better for some it's because they eat less while following it.

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Because they instinctively eat what they need to maintain their figures. You might see them eating a giant pizza but probably they had a very light lunch and skipped breakfast. They're advanced only in the sense that they can tell when they're in a caloric balance instinctively.

Leigh Peele wrote of a girl who had eaten the same 6 meals a day for two years, roughly 1600 calories. And she didn't lost weight. Eventually they analyzed her portion and food better and found out (but that wasn't that easy to figure out) that she was actually eating 2300 calories, pure maintenance.

Whenever you have people who can eat enough, they all lose weight. Put genetically different people on an island where food is very scant and none of them will fail to lose a lot of pounds.

I like Leight Peele. She is one smart cookie!!