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Heart Association Questions Atkins Study
Reported by JoAnne Purtan
Web produced by Kelly Reynolds

	The American Heart Association says the Atkins study was very small, very short term, and that there's no evidence weight loss could be maintained long term. Video

Big surprises are being revealed about the Atkins diet, the low fat, high carbohydrate way to lose weight. A study out Tuesday says it works, but not everyone agrees.

When the word got out that the Atkins diet worked, it got a lot of attention. But before you sit down to a steak dinner, you need to hear the rest of the story.

The study out of Duke University found that people on the high fat Atkins diet lost weight and actually lowered their cholesterol. Dr. Eric Westman studied 120 overweight people. After six months, the people on the Atkins diet lost 31 pounds, compared with 20 pounds for the group of people on the low fat American Heart Association diet. Also, more people stuck with the Atkins regiment.

Total cholesterol fell slightly in both groups.
However, those on the Atkins diet had an 11 percent increase in their good cholesterol, compared to no change for those following the AHA diet.

But already, the results are stirring up controversy. Late Tuesday afternoon, the AHA issued a release raising some real concerns.

They say the study, funded by the Atkins Foundation, was very small, very short term, just six months, and that there's no evidence that weight loss could be maintained long term. The AHA also fears a high intake of saturated fats over time raises great concern about increased cardiovascular risk. They also noted that the AHA diet has been replaced with new dietary guidelines stressing a balanced diet.

The AHA says there's another apparent flaw in the study. People on the Atkins diet were given fish and flaxseed oil supplements. The ones on the AHA diet were not. Fish oil and flaxseed oil both contain omega-3 fatty acids, which lower cholesterol.

We haven't heard the end of all this, though. The National Institutes of Health is currently conducting a year-long study of the Atkins diet with hundreds of participants.

Related Story:
- High Fat Diet Shows Promise in Study

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