At Temple University, researchers analyzed the link between weight loss and the low carbohydrate diet. The results of the study were published in an issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The short-term study did not find any evidence indicating how the low carbohydrate diet was effective in managing weight.

According to the lead researcher, Guenther Boden, MD the weight loss success of the Atkins’ diet does not have a correlation with losing water fluid and shedding pounds. The study did not demonstrate a connection between how carbohydrates are metabolized in the body. Contrary to the speculation amongst prominent researchers, Boden attributed the weight loss effects to reduced food consumption.

The study monitored 10 obese participants with type 2 diabetes. Their caloric intakes were decreased by thirty percent with a highly carbohydrate-restrictive diet. So that researchers could monitor each calorie consumed by the subjects, they trial patients are kept in a hospital research center for the duration of the 21-day analysis.

Before the study on the low-carb diet commenced, participants consumed an average of 3,100 calories per day. During the clinical trial, subjects’ diets were reduced to 2,100 calories. Researchers evaluated a series of physical changes in: cholesterol levels, fat- and water-derived weight loss and blood sugar control. During the first week, participants were allowed to maintain their regular eating habits. The subsequent weeks, the subjects were limited to 20 grams carbohydrates a day with unrestrictive amounts of fat and protein.

Patients of the study lost an average of 3.6 pounds on the Adkins’s/low-carbohydrate diet. The findings demonstrated normalized blood sugar levels as well as improvements in cholesterol levels. The trial proved that the weight loss was due to reduced calorie intake.