The research by YouGov found thirty-seven per cent of the 2,103 people surveyed who have tried to lose weight have attempted to follow a low carb diet. Low carb diets, such as the Keto diet, involve cutting out starchy carbohydrates like potatoes, pasta, rice and bread. However, scientific evidence by WHO shows carbohydrates should actually be part of a healthy, balanced diet within a weight-loss plan. Despite this, sixty-six per cent of survey participants said they had heard low carb diets were better for weight loss.
Thirty-five per cent said they had heard it was impossible to lose weight without cutting carbohydrates from their diet.
When asked if starchy carbohydrates should be the main source of calories in a healthy, balanced diet, eighty-one per cent thought this was a myth or weren’t certain whether it was a myth or fact.
Only nineteen per cent of participants understood it to be a fact.
In addition, forty-six per cent of those surveyed reported to have heard ‘fruit is full of sugar so should be avoided’; thirty per cent reported having heard ‘all carbohydrates are bad’; and thirty-one per cent reported hearing ‘carbohydrates aren’t essential for a healthy balanced diet’.
“There is a deep-seated misconception that people should avoid carbohydrates when they’re trying to lose weight, and as a nation we’re bombarded with anti-carbohydrate messages,” said Dr Jacquie Lavin, head of Nutrition and Research at Slimming World.
“Yet the truth is, carbohydrates play an important role both in a healthy diet and in sustainable weight loss – and the current carb confusion is fuelling the UK’s obesity problem.”
“A diet to aid weight loss needs to be healthy and balanced. It should give people the freedom and flexibility to enjoy a healthy balance of protein, carbohydrates and fat, and importantly it needs to be sustainable for the long term – without deprivation or cutting out whole food groups.”
Slimming World also noted many respondents found low carb diets hard to follow due to feeling limited in what they could eat, finding the diet boring, enjoying carbohydrates too much, and often feeling hungry.
Forty-six per cent of participants who tried a low carb diet said they often experienced frequent hunger, leaving them feeling unable to sustain weight-loss attempts.
“As our research shows, low-carb diets are hard to follow. So if you want to lose weight this new year, and keep it off, avoid low-carb diets,” said Dr Lavin.
According to Slimming World, there is growing evidence proving foods higher in protein and carbohydrates are far more satiating than foods high in fat.
Eating filling, lower energy dense foods (foods which have fewer calories per gram), including carbohydrates such as pasta, rice and potatoes, actually enables people to consume a larger volume of food and avoid hunger while reducing their overall calorie intake.
“Obesity not only has an impact on our own personal health but puts a massive strain on our National Health Service, which has to deal with a number of obesity-related conditions,” said Dr Lavin.
“What people need is help and advice to lose weight and keep it off. Advising overweight people to follow low-carbohydrate diets, which we know are unsustainable and potentially cut out a group of foods that are essential for a healthy balanced diet, is irresponsible.”
“It sets people up to fail and is likely to leave them struggling with feelings of guilt and low self-esteem as well as potentially regaining the weight they lost.”
“To end this vicious cycle, it’s vitally important we stop demonising carbohydrates and provide people who’d like to lose weight with accurate information, alongside effective support for maintaining healthy, flexible and sustainable diets.”