The Science of Modified Carbohydrate Diets and Application in the Clinic

This product is free for those who attended FNCE^® 2018.

Conventional treatment for obesity, founded on the First Law of Thermodynamics, assumes that all calories are alike, and that to lose weight one must simply "eat less and move more." However, this prescription rarely succeeds over the long term. According to an alternative approach, the metabolic state of fat cells plays a key role in determining body weight. High intakes of processed carbohydrate raise insulin levels and program fat cells to store too many calories, leaving too few for the rest of the body. Consequently, hunger increases and metabolic rate slows in the body's attempt to conserve energy. From this perspective, conventional calorie-restricted, low-fat diets amount to symptomatic treatment, destined to fail for most people. Instead, a dietary strategy aiming to lower insulin secretion promises to increase the effectiveness of long-term weight management and chronic disease prevention. This session will review the scientific support for, and controversies surrounding, a carbohydrate-modified diet for the treatment of obesity. In addition, translation of these principles to a family-based weight management clinic will be considered.

CPEU: 1.5
CPE Level: 3
Learning Codes: 5370, 1120, 6010

Learning Objectives

• Describe how the body reacts to conventional low-fat/low-calorie diets over the long term.
• Discuss how diet composition affects the storage and release of calories from fat cells.
• Design a low-glycemic load diet to promote satiety, increase energy expenditure, and produce weight loss without hunger.

Speaker

• David Ludwig, MD, PhD

Speaker

• Maggie Murphy, PhD, RD, LD, FAND

Planned with the Committee for Lifelong Learning