Low-carb diets burn more fat.

• Position: YOUR LIFE

People on low-carbohydrate diets are more dependent on the oxidation of fat in the liver for energy than those on low-calorie diets, researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, have found. This could have implications for treating obesity and related diseases such as diabetes, insulin resistance; and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. "Instead of looking at drugs to combat obesity and the diseases that stem from it, maybe optimizing diet not only can manage and treat these diseases, but also prevent them," contends Jeffrey Browning, assistant professor of internal medicine.

Although the study was not designed to determine which diet was more effective for losing weight, the average weight loss for the low-calorie dieters was about five pounds after two weeks, while the low-carbohydrate dieters lost about 9.5 pounds on average.

Glucose (a form of sugar) and fat are sources of energy that are metebolized in the liver and used as energy in the body. Glucose can be formed from lactate, amino acids, or glycerol. In order to determine how diet affects glucose production and utilization in the liver, obese or overweight adults were assigned randomly to either a low-carbohydrate or low-calorie diet and lean subjects were monitored on a regular diet. After two weeks...