Weight Loss with Low-Fat and/or Low-Energy Diets
12 weeks with either low-fat, low-energy or combination low-
fat/low-energy counseling strategies. These observations were,
however, obtained in a study of women no more than 50% over
their optimal body weight and thus may not hold true in heavier
women. Most post-intervention measures (with the notable
exception of W:H ratio) were higher for African American
women than for Caucasians. Over 12 weeks of intervention,
however, the present data indicate that either a low-fat, low-
energy or combination low-fat/low-energy diet was effective
for reducing BMI, percent body fat and waist circumference in
both African-American and Caucasian free-living women.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank all the women who participated in the Women’s
Diet Study. We also thank Lilian Naegeli for helping the
dietitians with the conduct of the study. This work was sup-
ported by NIH grant CA 60812 and Cancer Center Support
grant CA 22453.
17. Foster GD, Wadden TA, Swain RM, Anderson DA, Vogt RA:
Changes in resting energy expenditure after weight loss in obese
African American and white women. Am J Clin Nutr 69:13–17,
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