Subjects, whose compliance to the diet regime and body weight are carefully monitored, consume a wide variety foods on each diet plan. Foods such as lentil soup, peanut butter on bagels, plenty of fruits and vegetables, peanuts in salads, and a variety of fish and seafood are included.
Results from this study will add a significant piece to the ongoing debate centering around how the amount and type of fat affect weight loss. Nationwide food consumption data do not support a conclusion that low fat automatically translates into weight loss.
According to Dr. Frank Sacks, Co-Investigator and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, “Weight loss studies that use a low fat diet, although sometimes successful in the short-term, have not shown success in sustaining weight loss. Long-term adherence with some low fat diets may be impeded by reduced satiety, palatability, and variety.” According to Kathy McManus, Co-Investigator and Manager of Clinical Nutrition in the Department of Nutrition at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, “In the last decade, Americans cut their fat intake from 36% of total calories to 34% of total calories. Nevertheless, Americans gained an average of 8 pounds per person. We need to identify eating patterns that can satisfy the average person over a lifetime.”
The Peanut Institute is a non-profit organization that supports nutrition research and develops educational programs to encourage healthful lifestyles.