Association of Low-Carbohydrate and Low-Fat Diets With Mortality Among US Adults

US cohort study (n= 37,233) found that low carobohydrate (CHO) and low fat diets were not associated with total mortality. Unhealthy low CHO and low fat diets were associated with higher mortality, whereas healthy low CHO and low fat diets were associated with lower mortality.

Unhealthy low CHO diet score was calculated according to the percentage of energy from high quality CHO, animal protein, and saturated fat.  Healthy low CHO diet score was calculated according to the percentage of energy from low-quality CHO, plant protein, and unsaturated fat. Similar approaches were used to create overall, unhealthy, and healthy low fat diet scores.

 

Authors state the findings suggest that the associations of low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets with mortality depend on the quality and food sources of macronutrients.