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from http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99995003"
Stern's year-long study (Annals of Internal Medicine, vol 140, p778) was twice the length of any previous study. Half the patients followed the Atkins regime, limiting daily carbohydrate intake to just 30 grams. The rest tried losing weight through a conventional low-fat diet much richer in carbohydrates.
By the end, both groups had lost about the same amount of weight, between five and eight kilograms for the Atkins group and three and eight kilos for the low fat group. But the Atkins dieters lost almost all their weight in the first six months, then remained at a steady weight.
"But what we really need is a study showing whether people on the low-carbohydrate diet for years have different odds of heart attacks, strokes and diabetes," she says.
Although broadly supportive of the Atkins regime, Yancy warns that the diet could pose risks including the higher "bad" cholesterol, bone loss and kidney stones. Because of this, he discourages first-time dieters from using the regime.
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