Low carb craze exaggerated, new findings
only one out of four people on a low-carb diet actually
significantly cutting carbs, a new study claims.
The results fly in the face of previous findings which suggest the US is currently in the midst of a low-carb craze. Reports have suggested approximately 59 million Americans are following a low-carb eating plan such as the Atkins diet.
This latest study, commissioned by the NPD Group, tracked the eating patterns of 11,000 adults. It found only a small fraction of the population actually followed a lower-carb diet.
The study detailed carb cutting adults were still eating an average of 128 grams of refined carbohydrates (total carbs minus dietary fibre) a day. For men the average was 145 grams and for women it was 109 grams. Low-carb diets recommend only 20 -50 grams of carbs per day. This figure was still lower than the average of 210 grams of refined carbs a day for all adults.
The report also claimed that at any one time only 4 per cent of the American population was on a low-carb/high-protein diet. That translates to about 10 million Americans - considerably less than what was originally estimated.
Anne Mixen, the author of NPD's Carbohydrate Consumption Patterns Study said: "Everybody in the food industry has the potential to be positively or negatively impacted by this low-carb phenomenon."
"This report sheds some light on how big of an impact the low-carb craze is going to have on certain businesses and products in the food industry."
The report concluded the majority of people who claimed to be on a low-carb diet were between the ages of 35-64 - the largest sample group trying to cut carbs. While 40 per cent told NPD they exercised at least three times a week, this same group is almost 30 per cent more likely to be obese.
Of note, say the report authors, the people who were following a low-carb plan reported health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol at above average rates. Adults, who regularly ate a high-carb diet, were most likely to be at optimal weight or underweight.
Harry Balzer, vice president of The NPD Group said:"Every manufacturer is currently putting out their version of low-carb products."
"Americans will try them because that's what we do, we like to try new things. People still want to lose weight by eating, but getting people to change their behaviour is very difficult to do,"
"Low-carb diets are a fad. The question is how long will it last?"
A study published in The Archives of Internal Medicine (164:210-217) also questioned the efficacy of low-carb regimes. Evidence presented in this study suggested a high carbohydrate, low fat diet was 'better than counting the calories'.
Researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in the US say they found that a high carbohydrate diet consumed at will, with no attempt at energy restriction or change in energy intake, can result in the loss of body weight and body fat in older men and women.
Similarly, scientists in Denmark are to investigate whether eating more foods such as rice and bread than is traditionally considered healthy is likely to lead to an improvement in dietary intake.
Its suggestion that high-carb foods such as white bread, potatoes, pasta and sugar should play a more important role in the daily food intake is sure to raise a few eyebrows.
