RE: Experiences with Atkins diet

From: gts (gts_2000@yahoo.com)
Date: Thu May 22 2003 - 23:00:33 MDT

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    Harvey,

    I don't think your conclusions after reading the full text in any way refute
    the abstract or the media hype. The media claim from the article I cited
    from the Science Daily site at
    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/05/030522083022.htmis is that
    Atkins "May Be As Effective And Safe As Conventional Diets." It is not a
    claim that Atkins is superior to conventional diets.

    However Atkins might very well be superior. I note the following indications
    (from the abstract):

    Though the difference in weight loss between the two diets was not
    statistically significant, the means were nevertheless very different. On
    Atkins people lost about 4.4% of body weight after one year, while on the
    conventional diet they lost only 2.5% of body weight. So then on average,
    Atkins dieters lost almost twice as much weight as conventional dieters at
    the end of one year.

    While these results are not statistically significant, they are still
    noteworthy. In addition to the difference between the means, statistical
    significance is function of 1) the standard deviations of measurements in
    the two groups and 2) the number of data points in the study. The greater
    the number of data points, the greater the statistical significance, which
    suggests that if things continued as they were for more than a year then the
    Atkins dieters would look very good relative to the conventional low-fat
    dieters. Unfortunately the study ended at one year.

    I note also that healthy HDL increased more on Atkins than on the
    conventional diet. I don't have the actual numbers for HDL, LDL, VLDL (if
    any) or total cholesterol (you have the numbers from the full text, I
    suppose) but this seems also to be a result strongly in favor of Atkins.

    That said, I think Atkins is only a half-step in the right direction. I
    applaud the late Dr. Atkins for eliminating agricultural products but I wish
    he had taken the next step: the elimination of dairy products.

    -gts

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