RE: Experiences with Atkins diet

From: gts (gts_2000@yahoo.com)
Date: Sat May 24 2003 - 11:11:03 MDT

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    Harvey Newstrom wrote:

    > gts wrote,
    >> 3) Of the ten parameters measured, only the differences in ONE of
    >> them was statistically significant in all tests: HDL.

    > It's not quite as obviously one-sided as you make it sound.

    It is one-sided for this one parameter. That is all I'm saying. As I wrote
    in my last message, the parameters are debatable.

    > Remember that over 40% of the participants were confirmed to
    > quit their diets and many more were believed to be poor at
    > following their diets.

    That is indirect evidence for rather than against the statistical
    differences found between the groups. The net effect of the cheaters in both
    groups would have been a wash on the means of the parameters, but their
    measurements would have increased the variances of the measurements, making
    the differences seem less significant.

    > As such, I believe the end-of-year measurements are not as reliable as the
    earlier
    > measurements which showed:
    >
    > Atkins: Conventional Diet:
    > 6 month triglycerides: +15.0% -7.6%
    > 3 month LDL(bad) cholesterol:+5.4% -7.4%
    > 3 month total cholesterol: +1.7% -5.4%

    The first comparison above is not statistically significant with p = .13
    The second comparison above is not statistically significant with = .38

    The third comparison above is statistically significant at 3 months but
    becomes insignificant at 6 and 12 months.

    -gts

    >
    > The raw data is not as obviously one-sided as you imply. If
    > the numbers were all good and stayed good for Atkins, I would
    > agree. But there are some troubling data early on when
    > adherence to the diets was better. Given these earlier
    > numbers, I am not sure I would choose the Atkins diet.



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