The key to losing weight

The research, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) National Institutes of Health, seems to argue against the use of the coverage schemes that do not necessarily limit the calories, but call for the consumption of certain foods such as vegetables or proteins, to the detriment of others.

The NIH study of 811 volunteers, 38 per cent of men and 62 percent of women 30-70 years and overweight or obese, reviewed the plans that were popular in the United States in recent years, when well as the number of obese Americans has soared.

The "Prevention of overweight and using new feeding strategies (POUNDS LOST) study showed a weight loss even after six months and two years among participants assigned to four diets that differ in their proportions of the three major nutrients "said the researchers.

"The plans with low or high in total fat (20 or 40 percent of calories) with a medium or high protein (15 or 25 percent of calories). Carbohydrate varies from 35 to 65 percent of calories.

"The schemes all used the same objectives of reducing calories and heart healthy, low in saturated fat and cholesterol while high in fiber," said the researchers, whose study is published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Participants lost an average of 13 pounds (5.9 kilos) in six months and maintained a nine pounds (four kilograms) of the loss of two years.

"These results show that, as long as people follow a heart healthy diet reduced in calories, there are more of a nutritional approach to achieve and maintain a healthy weight," said Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, director of NHLBI.

"This gives people who need to lose weight with the flexibility to choose an approach that they are more likely to support: that is most suited to their personal preferences and health needs," she underlined.

Sixty-six percent of American adults are overweight and of these, 32 percent are obese, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.