Long Story Short
Low carb or low fat? The research says either is fine.

Long Story
There are numerous diet types to choose from ranging from keto diets, Mediterranean diet, fasting diets, Atkins diet, zone diet etc. How to choose the best diet for an individual? Most of these diets fall into two broader categories- low carb and low-fat diets. There has been a long debate on which of these two diets is more effective for weight loss. However, a recent study conducted by a group of researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have shown that either of the two diet categories is effective for inducing weight loss.

The research report was published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA). The lead researcher Christopher Gardner opined that some diets work great on some people for weight loss while it may not work at all on others. It is due to the diversity of different individuals. Thus, the question is which is the best diet rather it is which is the best diet for whom? Christopher Gardner and his team worked with 609 overweight people in the age group of 18-50 years and with almost equal gender distribution. The participants were divided into two groups and were randomly assigned either a low carb diet or a low-fat diet. For the first eight weeks, the participants were instructed not to consume more than 20 grams of either carb or fat per day based on their diet category. By the end of the study, the participants were consuming 57 grams of fat per day and those on low card diet were consuming 132 grams of carbs per day.

The results of the study were interesting. Some participants lost as much as 60 pounds of weight while some gained weight. Overall, the participants lost an average weight of 13 pounds, which was considered as good. Christopher Gardner says that the key finding from the study was irrespective of the diet category, the basic principles for weight loss for the participants remained the same. They were told to avoid convenient packaged food, eat less sugar and refined flour, and consume as many vegetables as possible. The participants were also told not to diet in a way that makes them feel hungry or deprived. Gardner also says that majority of the participants irrespective of which groups they were assigned to, credited their weight loss to better eating practices. They were more mindful in their eating habits, started taking home-cooked food and whole food.