Improve Your Mood as Well as Your Health By Following a Low-Fat Diet

You can double your pleasure by shedding those extra pounds while improving your mood at the same time. By following a low-fat diet, you could not only lighten your load by carrying around less weight, but also gain a lighter attitude.

Sticking to either a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet, or a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet can melt the pounds away over time, but only low-fat diets will result in both weight loss and long-term mood improvement. This new information comes from a study led by Grant D. Brinkworth, a research scientist with the food and nutritional sciences division of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Adelaide, Australia. The report on the analysis was recently published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Dieters following either of two weight-loss plans during the study consumed about the same number of calories. The low-fat dieters ate foods such as bread, pasta and rice, while the high-fat dieters consumed more meat and dairy products. Regarding the study results, Brinkworth acknowledged, “Both an energy-reduced, very low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet and a conventional high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet are equally effective for achieving weight loss in overweight and obese individuals.”

Regarding the impact of both diets on working memory and speed of processing he noted, “Both dietary patterns also had similar effects on the cognitive domains assessed.” However, he summed up the difference between the dieting methods discovered during the analysis by saying, “the conventional high-carbohydrate, low-fat weight-loss diet was shown to have more positive effects on mood compared to the very low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet.”

Prior research has shown short-term mood improvements among people who follow various weight loss plans. Similarly, improvements in mood were observed over the first eight weeks in the new study. However, the latest analysis is one of only a few that have analyzed long-term mood changes among people who experience weight loss through dieting.

The study included 106 overweight and obese adults having an average age of 50 years. Each was randomly assigned either to follow a low-calorie, low- carbohydrate, high-fat plan, or a high- carbohydrate, low-fat diet for the period of one year. Calorie intake was restricted to around 1,433 to 1,672 per day for both diets. After a year, the average weight loss achieved by each group was about 30.2 pounds. In addition, dieters in both groups experienced mood improvements after eight weeks. However, mood improvements only had a lasting effect among those participants the low-fat diet group. Moreover, after the study year, the mood of participants in the high-fat diet group reverted back to what it had been prior to following the diet.

Regarding the difference in dieting outcomes on mood, Brinkworth said, “The exact mechanism for the observed effects on mood still remains largely unknown.” He then added, “However, if the mechanism for the return of mood toward more negative baseline levels following weight loss with a very low-carbohydrate diet is related to this diet being so far removed from normal dietary habits, then a very low-carbohydrate diet may be best recommended for individuals who habitually consume low amounts of carbohydrate foods in their diet.”

Whereas increased consumption of carbohydrates can boost serotonin levels in the brain, consumption of added fat and protein can lower serotonin levels. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter known to affect mood. Brinkworth pointed out that altered mood can influence interpersonal behavior, and that following a very low-carbohydrate diet could lead to psychosocial consequences for interpersonal behavior and relationships.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one-third of U.S. adults are obese. This accounts for more than 72 million Americans.

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