Experts Available to Discuss Low-Fat Versus Low-Carb Diets

TOPIC: A study of 2,700 people in the National Weight Control Registry suggests low-fat diets may be more effective in maintaining long-term weight loss than low-carb diets, according to an article by The Associated Press. Researchers compared the participants’ diets from 1995 through 2003. Experts claim the participants on low-carb diets replaced the carbs with fat causing them to gain the weight back. Some experts say it is hard to know if low-carb diets work because people have a difficult time staying on such a strict diet.

EXPERTS: ExpertSource can offer several highly qualified experts to comment on this story:

Dr. Elizabeth Pivonka heads the Produce for Better Health Foundation, a group charged with helping Americans reach their recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Dr. Pivonka can speak about the impact of fruit and vegetable consumption in the prevention of obesity (specifically childhood obesity), as well as the prevention of chronic disease. She can speak about a new program, 5 A Day the Color Way, that is providing parents with a fun, easy way to get their children interested in a healthy diet.

Dr. Robert Acuff, of East Tennessee State University, is the director of the Center for Nutrition Research. One of the center’s functions is evaluating human nutritional status.

John La Puma, M.D., F.A.C.P. is a board-certified specialist in internal medicine and an internationally recognized expert in nutrition, obesity and hypercholesterolemia. Formerly a Professor of Nutrition at Kendall College and Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, he taught the first Cooking and Nutrition Course for Medical Students in the country, at SUNY-Syracuse, and has conducted peer-reviewed research published in the top peer-reviewed medical journals. The first physician in the country to undertake and complete a fellowship in medical ethics, Dr. La Puma’s innovative research has been in weight loss, post-marketing research, informed consent, and nutrition. He is medical director at the Santa Barbara Institute for Medical Nutrition and Healthy Weight, a division of CHEF Clinic(TM) and serves on the UCLA Center for Dietary Supplements Advisory Board. In 2003, he was named one of the “Top Physicians in the U.S.” by the Consumers’ Research Council.

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