Fad diets work well for some but not others

Here in Syracuse there is often concern among natural health care enthusiasts about the value and safety of fad diets. The question often arises as to why fad diets appear to only work for some people if they are actually good diets. And so new research explaining why fad diets work well for some people and not for other people is of interest here.

In the July 28, 2010 edition of Science Daily, http://www.sciencedaily.com, an article titled "Why Fad Diets Work Well for Some, but Not Others" discusses this matter. Have you ever noticed that some people seem to eat anything they want and never gain a pound, while others seem to gain weight just by looking at fattening foods? You may not be imagining anything after all. This may have a biological cause according to research published in the July 2010 edition of Genetics. In this research using fruit flies, researchers have found that genes interacting with diet, rather than diet alone, are the main cause of variation in metabolic traits, such as body weight. This phenomenon helps to explain why some diets work better for some people than others, and suggests that future diets should be tailored to an individual's genes rather than to physical appearance of the person.

Laura K. Reed, Ph.D, a researcher from the Department of Genetics at North Carolina State University, and the lead investigator in the work has said "There is no one-size-fits all solution to the diseases of obesity and type-2 diabetes. Each person has a unique set of genetic and environmental factors contributing to his or her metabolic health, and as a society, we should stop looking for a panacea and start accepting that this is a complex problem that may have a different solution for each individual."

In order to make this discovery, the scientists studied 146 different genetic lines of fruit flies that were fed four different diets (nutritionally balanced, low calorie, high sugar, and high fat). The researchers then measured a variety of metabolic traits, including body weight, in each group. The flies in some of the genetic lines were highly sensitive to their diets, as reflected by changes in body weight, while the flies of other lines showed no change in weight across diets. These scientists were able to ascertain what portion of the total variation in the metabolic traits was determined by genetics alone, by diet alone, or by the interaction between genotype and diet.

The results of this research showed that diet alone made a small contribution to the total variation, while genotype and genotype interactions with diet made very large contributions. According to this study some individuals may be able to achieve benefits from altering their dietary habits, while the same changes for others may have virtually no effect.

And so here in Syracuse this study should be kept in mind if you are overweight and having trouble losing weight with fad diets. You may want to consult with a dietary specialist who understands genetic variables in health care in order to determine the best approach to dieting for you.

Mandel News Service: http://www.mandelnews.com