Low Carb Diet Lowered Blood Pressure More Effectively Than Weight Loss Pill

A new study from the US showed that two popular weight loss methods, one using the obesity treatment weight-loss pill orlistat plus a low-fat diet and another just based on a low carb diet were equally effective at helping people lose significant amounts of weight, but in a surprising twist found that that the low carb diet was much better at helping them lower blood pressure.

Researchers from the Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center and Duke University Medical Center, both in Durham, North Carolina, reported their findings in a study published online on 25 January in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The Department of Veteran Affairs paid for the research.

Lead author Dr William S. Yancy Jr, an associate professor of medicine at Duke, said their findings send an important message to people with high blood pressure who are trying to lose weight:

“If people have high blood pressure and a weight problem, a low-carbohydrate diet might be a better option than a weight loss medication,” said Yancy, who is also a staff physician at the VA center in Durham where the study was conducted.

“It’s important to know you can try a diet instead of medication and get the same weight loss results with fewer costs and potentially fewer side effects,” he explained.

Previous research had already shown that both diets: prescription-strength orlistat (Xenical from Roche) combined with a low-fat diet, and a low-carb diet, were effective for weight loss.

But no study had pitched them head to head before, which the researchers said was a significant oversight since orlistat is now available over the counter as Alli, from GlaxoSmithKline. Plus, there is scarcely any evidence-based information to help overweight patients with chronic health issues, they added. Read more