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Reduced carbohydrate diet improved metabolic outcomes in young black girls
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Metabolic parameters were improved by reducing dietary carbohydrates in young black girls. However, the improved diet did not improve weight or fat loss, according to data from a randomized study.
The researchers said their goal was to evaluate the efficacy of a moderately restricted carbohydrate diet vs. a standard carbohydrate diet on weight and fat loss and metabolic parameters in overweight or obese black girls aged 9 to 14 years.
“Identification of strategies to limit excess adipose tissue acquisition and prevent metabolic perturbations early in the life course, particularly among [African American] girls, is essential,” they wrote.
Krista Casazza, PhD, RD, of the department of nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama, and colleagues designed a 16-week randomized study that included 26 black girls in the 92nd BMI percentile or higher.
The patients were assigned to either a reduced specialized diet (42% energy from carbohydrates; n=12) or a standard diet (55% energy from carbohydrates; n=14). The first 5 weeks included a eucaloric phase (weight stable), and the following 11 weeks consisted of a hypocaloric phase (weight loss, approximately 1,000-calorie reduction).
Researchers concluded that patients on a reduced specialized diet had lower insulin (P<.05) concentration at 60 minutes after ingestion of the meal at week 3. Insulin response differences remained significant for up to 3 hours after the meal challenge (P<.01, for all time points). In addition, patients on the standard diet had higher glucose levels at 60, 90, and 120 minutes (P<.01).
After 5 weeks, patients on the reduced specialized diet had higher fasting insulin (6.7 mg/dL increase; P=.02) relative to their baseline values, but the insulin concentration did not change by diet group (P=.09). By the end of week 5, girls on the reduced specialized diet had significantly lower triglycerides (P<.001).
Patients on both diets experienced decreased LDL (standard diet=9.7; reduced specialized diet=4.8) and increased adiponectin levels (standard diet=0.8; reduced specialized diet=0.04) for 5 weeks. Neither diet groups differed in the amount of weight loss at the end of the intervention, although a trend toward greater weight loss on the reduced specialized diet during the eucaloric phase was apparent (P=.09).
Researchers said future studies should include metabolic measures following the hypocaloric phase, a larger sample size, multiple ethnicities and patients with a wider range of body figures.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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