Low calorie intake may be the secret to a successful diet

Researchers from the US have found that it is not so much what people eat, but rather how many calories they consume that has the biggest impact on weight gain.

The peer-review study, which was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, revealed that reducing the amount of protein or carbohydrates in a diet was not as important as cutting back on the overall number of calories consumed in any given day.

"The major predictor for weight loss was 'adherence'. Those participants who adhered better, lost more weight than those who did not," said George Bray, a biomedical researcher who worked on the study.

Previous research into the benefits of low-carbohydrate versus low-fat diets seemed to suggest that one version was better than the other, but now experts are saying that as long as individuals put less calories into their bodies on a regular bases excess weight should quickly disappear.

And while many people begin the new year with plans to kick start numerous weight loss programs, it seems that they might be better advised to choose a diet that suits their own tastes and stick with it, rather than chopping or changing between different options.

Posted by Juliette Pemberton