Using either a low-carbohydrate or low-fat diet to shed belly fat can
improve blood vessel function, researchers say.
The study included 60
women and men who weighed 215 pounds on average and were assigned to either
low-carb or low-fat diets that provided a similar amount ofcalories each day. The participants also did moderate
exercise.
At the start and end
of the six-month study, the researchers assessed the function of the
participants' blood vessels.
During the study,
people on the low-carb diet lost an average of 28.9 pounds and those on the
low-fat diet lost an average of 18.7 pounds. The more belly fat a person lost, the better their arteries were
able to expand when necessary, allowing blood to flow more freely.
"Our study
demonstrated that the amount of improvement in the vessels was directly linked
to how much central, or belly, fat the individuals lost, regardless of which
diet they were on," lead investigator Kerry Stewart, a professor of
medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of
clinical and research exercise physiology at the Johns Hopkins Heart and
Vascular Institute, said in a Hopkins news release.
"This is
important since there have been concerns that a low-carb diet, which means
eating more fat, may have a harmful effect on cardiovascular health. These
results showed no harmful effects from the low-carb diet," Stewart noted.
The study was slated
for presentation Tuesday at the American Heart Association scientific meeting
in San Diego.
Being overweight
increases the risk for cardiovascular disease, especially if belly fat accumulates
above the waist.