silveraw
Level 9 Valued Member
Just came across this study that looked at LC and LC with IF compared to "no diet" and screened them for eating disorders.
Super interesting study since I know a lot of people dismissed the correlation between the two for a very long time.
This quote from the study does a good job of summing up the findings:
"Although LC diet appears to be a successful way to lower body weight [27], our data reveal that this restrictive diet is related to worse eating attitudes. Specifically, they reported higher binge eating symptoms, cognitive restriction, and food cravings. Furthermore, individuals with disordered eating attitudes tend to disregard context, frequency, and quantity of food and their attunement with the current state of the body, making choices based on established beliefs [28]. This diet mentality is described in one of the questions of the adapted subscale of cognitive restriction toward carbohydrates: “I do not eat some food (source of carbohydrates) because they make me fat”."
I think the big practical takeaway for me is if you try LC or IF and find yourself craving and obsessing about the food you can't have, maybe that particular tool isn't a great choice for you.
Important limitations of the study: most participants were female, and they only looked at IF and LC compared to "no diet", and it was volunteer respondents on a university. So potential biases towards people doing those diets and having concerns.
Super interesting study since I know a lot of people dismissed the correlation between the two for a very long time.
This quote from the study does a good job of summing up the findings:
"Although LC diet appears to be a successful way to lower body weight [27], our data reveal that this restrictive diet is related to worse eating attitudes. Specifically, they reported higher binge eating symptoms, cognitive restriction, and food cravings. Furthermore, individuals with disordered eating attitudes tend to disregard context, frequency, and quantity of food and their attunement with the current state of the body, making choices based on established beliefs [28]. This diet mentality is described in one of the questions of the adapted subscale of cognitive restriction toward carbohydrates: “I do not eat some food (source of carbohydrates) because they make me fat”."
Craving for carbs: food craving and disordered eating in low-carb dieters and its association with intermittent fasting
Studies point to positive outcomes in a diet with reduction of carbohydrates and that the associated practice of intermittent fasting (IF) might increase weight loss. Although dieting might be related to disordered eating, little evidence is available ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
I think the big practical takeaway for me is if you try LC or IF and find yourself craving and obsessing about the food you can't have, maybe that particular tool isn't a great choice for you.
Important limitations of the study: most participants were female, and they only looked at IF and LC compared to "no diet", and it was volunteer respondents on a university. So potential biases towards people doing those diets and having concerns.