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In recent years, it has become apparent that low-grade vascular inflammation plays a key role in all stages of the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Weight loss has been shown to improve blood inflammatory markers; however, it is unknown if weight-loss diets varying in macronutrient composition differentially affect inflammatory responses. The primary purpose of the present study was to compare a very-low-carbohydrate diet and a low-fat weight-loss diet on inflammatory biomarkers in overweight men. In a randomized cross-over design, 15 overweight men (body fat, >25%; body mass index, 34 kg/m2) consumed two experimental weight-loss diets for two consecutive 6-week periods: a very-low-carbohydrate diet (<10% energy via carbohydrate) and a low-fat diet (<30% energy via fat). Both the low-fat and the very-low-carbohydrate diets resulted in significant decreases in absolute concentrations of hsTNF-alpha (high-sensitivity tumour necrosis factor-alpha), hsIL-6 (high-sensitivity interleukin-6), hsCRP (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein) and sICAM-1 (soluble intercellular cell-adhesion molecule-1). There was no significant change in absolute sP-selectin (soluble P-selectin) concentrations after either diet. Normalized inflammatory values represented as the delta change per 1 kg reduction in body mass showed a significant difference between the two diets only for sP-selectin (P<0.05). In summary, energy-restricted low-fat and very-low-carbohydrate diets both significantly decreased several biomarkers of inflammation. These data suggest that, in the short-term, weight loss is primarily the driving force underlying the reductions in most of the inflammatory biomarkers.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Health Sciences
Research Group:	Sports science and exercise
Research Field:	Exercise physiology
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Evaluation of health and support services
Objective Field:	Evaluation of health and support services not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Sharman, MJ (Dr Matt Sharman)
ID Code:	78982
Year Published:	2004
Web of Science® Times Cited:	84
Deposited By:	Health Sciences A
Deposited On:	2012-08-10
Last Modified:	2012-09-14
Downloads:	2 View Download Statistics