Background: Diet-induced weight loss is accompanied by adaptive thermogenesis, ie, a disproportional or greater than expected reduction of resting metabolic rate (RMR). Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether adaptive thermogenesis is sustained during weight maintenance after weight loss. Design: Subjects were 22 men and 69 women [mean 6 SD age: 40 6 9 y; body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2): 31.9 6 3.0]. They followed a very-low-energy diet for 8 wk, followed by a...

Background: It is currently unclear whether altering the carbohydrate-to-protein ratio of low-fat, energy-restricted diets augments weight loss and cardiometabolic risk markers. Objective: The objective was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that compared energy-restricted, isocaloric, high-protein, low-fat (HP) diets with standard-protein, low-fat (SP) diets on weight loss, body composition, resting energy expenditure (REE), satiety and appetite, and...

Dr. Carl (Chip) Lavie, a cardiologist from Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans, LA, discusses an article appearing in the May 2012 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, which provides further evidence for the validation of the obesity paradox. Previous study results may be misleading if fitnessof the patient is not also considered.
Available at: http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(12)00266-2/fulltext

BACKGROUND: Weight loss reduces body fat and lean mass, but whether these changes are influenced by macronutrient composition of the diet is unclear. OBJECTIVE: We determined whether energy-reduced diets that emphasize fat, protein, or carbohydrate differentially reduce total, visceral, or hepatic fat or preserve lean mass. DESIGN: In a subset of participants in a randomized trial of 4 weight-loss diets, body fat and lean mass (n = 424; by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) and...

Dr. Carl (Chip) Lavie, Professor of Medicine in the Department of Cardiovascular Diseases at the John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute, Ochsner Clinical School and the University of Queensland School of Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana, discusses his article appearing in the September 2011 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings on the effects of body composition and coronary heart disease mortality. Available at: http://tinyurl.com/3to6x5q .