Calorie Controversies

A calorie is a calorie... right?

<>by Christian Finn
Founder and owner of The Facts About Fitness




One controversial aspect of low-carbohydrate diets is the so-called metabolic advantage — the idea that more weight is lost calorie for calorie compared with diets higher in carbohydrate.

But not everyone agrees that the metabolic advantage even exists.

"A calorie is a calorie, regardless of where it comes from," says Dr. Elizabeth Pivonka, president of the Produce for Better Health Foundation. There are no foods that increase your metabolic rate, or help you burn calories, she says.

Dr. Pivonka probably felt rather confused after seeing the results of a recent Harvard School of Public Health study.

The findings, which generated national attention, show that low-carbohydrate dieters lost more weight than low-fat dieters despite eating 25,000 extra calories over a 12-week period [3].

Is the concept of the metabolic advantage in conflict with the laws of thermodynamics? Is it a myth? If not, how does it happen? Where does the energy go?

Let's take a closer look at the research.

A group of dieters was assigned to one of three different regimens. They included a low-fat group (1800 calories for men; 1500 calories for women), a low-carbohydrate group that ate the same number of calories, and a third group on a similar low-carbohydrate plan that included 300 extra calories a day.

Participants in all three groups lost weight, with the low-fat group losing an average of 17 pounds and the low-carbohydrate group that ate the same number of calories losing 23 pounds.

The biggest surprise was...

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