Energy intake required to maintain body weight is not affected by wide variation in diet composition

Abstract

Diets rich in fat may promote obesity by leading to a greater deposition of adipose-tissue triglycerides than do isoenergetic diets with less fat. This possibility was examined by a retrospective analysis of the energy needs of 16 human subjects (13 adults, 3 children) fed liquid diets of precisely known composition with widely varied fat content, for 15-56 d (33 +/- 2 d, mean +/- SE). Subjects lived in a metabolic ward and received fluid formulas with different fat and carbohydrate content, physical activity was kept constant, and precise data were available on energy intake and daily body weight. Isoenergetic formulas contained various percentages of carbohydrate as cerelose (low, 15%; intermediate, 40% or 45%; high, 75%, 80%, or 85%), a constant 15% of energy as protein (as milk protein), and the balance of energy as fat (as corn oil). Even with extreme changes in the fat-carbohydrate ratio (fat energy varied from 0% to 70% of total intake), there was no detectable evidence of significant variation in energy need as a function of percentage fat intake.

Does fat intake explain fatness in healthy children?

“…Thus, in accordance with Magerey et al (2001) we also could not find an independent role of fat intake for the long-term fat gain in children. This is in line with metabolic ward data from 13 adults and 3 children (with imposed isoenergetic liquid diets fed over prolonged periods of time) which showed a comparable efficiency of energy utilization between carbohydrate and fat calories (Leibel et al, 1992). However, it should be kept in mind that frequent consumption of energy-dense high fat meals can lead to passive overconsumption, a mechanism that may contribute to the increasing prevalence of obesity (Jéquier, 2001,Blundell & Macdiarmid, 1997.…”

Dietary adherence and weight loss success among overweight women: results from the A TO Z weight loss study

“…Other investigators have also been able to demonstrate these findings. [24][25][26][27] For example, in a 6-week study examining the effects of two low-calorie diets (1000 kcal per day) with different macronutrient composition (32% protein, 15% carbohydrate and 53% fat or 29% protein, 45% carbohydrate and 26% fat), Golay et al 24 reported no significant difference in the magnitude of weight loss or changes in body composition between the two diets. The authors concluded that weight loss success was due to energy intake and not macronutrient composition.…”

Differential Metabolic Effects of Energy Restriction in Dogs Using Diets Varying in Fat and Fiber Content

“…For example, Leibel et al did not find a significant difference in the energy required to maintain body weight when people were fed diets varying in the ratio of fat to carbohydrate (19). One limitation of this retrospective study is that body weights were used to determine maintenance energy requirements.…”

“…diet were heavier and fatter than the saturated-at-fed rats, and had greater accumulations of fat in subcutaneous adipose depots (13). Although some studies have shown that low-fat diets are more effective in weight loss (16,21,38), still other studies maintain that dietary composition has no effect on weight loss (2,19). However, a recent study examining the effects of diets varying in fat content on body composition in rats quite convincingly displays an association between dietary fat content and body fat composition (6).…”