Weight Loss Central

Just ran across this study:

Effects of two energy-restricted diets differing in
the carbohydrate/protein ratio on weight loss and oxidative changes of
obese men.

Introduction Low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets are a current
challenge in the nutritional treatment of obesity. Objective To compare
the effect of a low-carbohydrate high-protein diet with a traditional
hypocaloric diet on weight loss and mitochondrial oxidative metabolism.
Subjects and methods Nineteen obese men (age 36+/-6 years; body mass
index 34+/-2 kg/m(2)) were randomized to follow one of the two
diets-control diet (15% protein; 30% lipids; 55% carbohydrates) or
high-protein diet (30% protein; 30% lipids; 40% carbohydrates)-over an
8-week period. Anthropometry, biochemical variables, resting energy
expenditure and mitochondrial oxidation were measured at the start and
at the end of the intervention. Results The high-protein diet produced
a greater weight loss (-8.3+/-1.2% versus -5.5+/-2.5%, P=0.012) than
the control diet. Interestingly, an activation in the mitochondrial
oxidation was found in the high-protein-fed group. This stimulation was
positively correlated with the final resting energy expenditure and
negatively associated with the final fat mass content.

Conclusion Low-carbohydrate high-protein diets could involve specific
changes in mitochondrial oxidation that could be related to a higher
weight loss.