Research reportFactors associated with choice of a low-fat or low-carbohydrate diet during a behavioral weight loss intervention☆,☆☆
Section snippets
Participants
Study participants were recruited from the Durham Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center between June 2011 and June 2012 through flyers, brochures, and advertisements. VA health care personnel were informed of the study and encouraged to refer patients to the study through the VA's electronic referral option. Additionally, a search of electronic health records for patients meeting study criteria was conducted, with potentially eligible patients contacted via a recruitment letter with a telephone
Results
Our study sample included 105 participants randomized to the diet choice arm (see Table 1 for sample characteristics). The low-fat/low-calorie diet was chosen by 44 participants (42%) and the low-carbohydrate diet by 61 participants (58%).
In bivariate analyses, higher percentage of fat intake and lower percent of carbohydrate intake at baseline were associated with choosing the low-carbohydrate diet (Table 2). Based on their FPQ results, 77 participants had food preferences aligned with a
Discussion
This manuscript describes the results of providing participants a choice between a low-fat/low-calorie or low-carbohydrate diet upon initiation of a behavioral weight loss program. Increasingly, there is recognition that several dietary approaches to weight loss are safe and effective, and that individuals have a choice among these various dietary approaches. This is the first study to report on the frequency of choosing either a low-fat diet or low-carbohydrate diet, associations of diet
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Cited by (16)
Food choice motivations: Profiling low-carbohydrate, high-fat dieters
2019, AppetiteCitation Excerpt :The similarity in sensory appeal between both diet groups in the current study is consistent with the finding by McVay et al. (2014) that found no difference between low-fat and low-carbohydrate dieters in terms of the importance of taste. Furthermore, McVay et al. (2014) identified that the alignment of taste preferences to a specific diet pattern was predictive of diet selection. The current findings suggest that the main barriers to dieting and LCHF diet choice are price and convenience.
Fat preference and fat intake in individuals with and without anorexia nervosa
2019, AppetiteCitation Excerpt :Although absolute nutrient intakes differed across these studies, patients with AN consistently consumed fewer kcal and a lower percentage of kcal from fat compared to healthy individuals. The utility of the FPQ has been demonstrated in studies of healthy (King et al., 2018) and obese (McVay et al., 2014; Yancy et al., 2013) individuals; however, self-reported fat preference on the FPQ was compared to measured food intake in only one study of nine healthy adult males (Geiselman et al., 1998). The current study compared self-reported fat preference (FPS) to fat intake (MIMS) in large samples of healthy females and low-weight patients with AN.
Low-carbohydrate, high-fat dieters: Characteristic food choice motivations, health perceptions and behaviours
2017, Food Quality and PreferenceCitation Excerpt :The study results identified that, taking into account sex and age, prior fat and carbohydrate intake and food preferences consistent with a low-carbohydrate diet were found to be related to LCHF diet choice. However, only food preferences predicted diet choice (McVay et al., 2014). In addition, food preferences, expected weight loss and improved health were identified as the most influential reasons for diet choice.
Postmenopausal women with abdominal obesity choosing a nutritional approach for weight loss: A decisional needs assessment
2016, MaturitasCitation Excerpt :McVay et al., studying factors associated with choice of a low-fat or low-carbohydrate diet among overweight adults, pointed out that food preferences and diet’s positive effects on weight and health influenced the decision the most. These factors are similar to sensory aspect and physiological impacts found in our study [29]. Interestingly, decisional conflict associated with uncertainty about the choice of the LOFAT or the RFV diet did not seem to have clearly emerged in the discussions.
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Acknowledgements: Funding for the trial was provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (IIR 09-381). Funding for Megan McVay, Ph.D, was provided by fellowship grant T32 HS00079 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The funder had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; nor preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Duke University, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, or Virginia Commonwealth University. Paula Geiselman, PhD and the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College have a financial interest in the Geiselman Food Preference Questionnaire (FPQ), as she receives royalties from Pennington Biomedical Research Center for use of the FPQ. None of the other authors had any conflicts of interest to disclose. Sources of Support: This research was supported by VA HSR&D (IIR 09-381).
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Clinical Trial Registry: NCT01152359.