What's the best way to lose weight? Scientists still don't have an answer, but they have managed to rule out one trendy option.
A recent popular theory among dieters is that certain types of diets may be more effective than others, based on individual dieters' genes. But a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Tuesday says this is, essentially, bunk.
Researchers at Stanford University conducted a study on overweight adults to find out whether certain weight loss methods would be more successful with certain genetic makeups. In total, 600 participants were randomly assigned to either a low-fat or a low-carbohydrate diet. Additionally, all participants had their DNA analyzed to determine whether they had a gene that could predict better weight loss under one of the diets.
The participants then followed their randomly assigned diets for a year. But after comparing the diet regimens to the DNA analysis, the researchers found no evidence that the predicted gene markers made any difference in what form of dieting works best for different people, Live Science reported. While there was overall success in losing weight — an average of 11.5 pounds for participants on the low-fat diet, and 13 pounds for those on the low-carb one — there were no significant differences between those who had the expected "right genes" for each diet and those who didn't.
The researchers plan to continue to analyze their data in order to try to determine other possible indicators for what types of diets might work best for different people. Read more about the study's findings at Live Science.