Counting calories IS a waste of time: Mediterranean diet rich in 'good' fats 'is the BEST way to lose weight'

Counting calories may be a waste of time, new research suggests.

A calorie-rich diet, packed with ‘good’ fats such as those in olive oil, saw people lose slightly more weight than those who strictly controlled their calories.

The findings will fuel an ongoing row about three-decade old guidelines that say eating too much fat is linked to obesity and cardiovascular disease.

The latest evidence suggests that not all fats may be bad for you after all.

The research, published in the journal Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, tracked nearly 7,500 men and women in Spain for five years.

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Counting calories is a waste of time if you want to lose weight, a new study has revealed

The participants, who all had type two diabetes or were at risk of heart disease, were put on one of three diets.

One group had an unrestricted Mediterranean diet especially rich in olive oil, a second had a similar unrestricted diet packed with nuts, and the third group followed a conventional ‘slimmers’ diet that avoided all kinds of fat.

After five years, all three groups were found to have shed a small amount of weight, but people on the olive oil-rich diet lost the most - an average of 0.88 kg (1.9 pounds).

Members of the low-fat group lost 0.60 kg (1.3 pounds) while those on the nut-rich diet were 0.40 kg (0.88 pounds) lighter.

The scientists, from the University of Barcelona, also found that curbing fat consumption was the least effective way to trim ‘spare tyres’.

Waist circumference increased by 1.2cm in the low-fat group compared with 0.85cm in the olive oil group and 0.37cm in the nuts group.

Study leader Dr Ramon Estruch said: ‘More than 40 years of nutritional policy has advocated for a low-fat diet but we’re seeing little impact on rising levels of obesity.

‘Our study shows that a Mediterranean diet rich in vegetable fats such as olive oil and nuts had little effect on bodyweight or waist circumference compared to people on a low-fat diet.

A calorie-rich diet, packed with ‘good’ fats such as those in olive oil, helps people lose more weight than those who strictly controlled their calories

‘The Mediterranean diet has well-known health benefits and includes healthy fats such as vegetable oils, fish and nuts.’

But he added: ‘Our findings certainly do not imply that unrestricted diets with high levels of unhealthy fats such as butter, processed meat, sweetened beverages, deserts or fast-foods are beneficial.’

The findings were welcomed by a British cardiologist who last month published a controversial report claiming that eating fat does more good than harm.

Dr Aseem Malhotra, of the National Obesity Forum, claimed in his report that the demonisation of fat was ‘perhaps the biggest mistake in modern medical history’.

That document - later dismissed as ‘absurd’ by experts - claimed: ‘Eating a diet rich in full-fat dairy – such as cheese, milk and yoghurt – can actually lower the chance of obesity.’

Four campaigners from the National Obesity Forum resigned in protest at the publication.

Dr Malhotra last night stood behind the publication, insisting that the Lancet study backed up his claims.

‘This robust study provides yet more evidence to abandon the “low fat” and calorie-counting mantra and instead concentrate on eating healthy and nutritious high fat foods,’ he said.

‘A high fat Mediterranean diet - which I follow and tell my patients to - not only doesn’t lead to weight gain but is also the most protective dietary pattern against heart disease, cancer and dementia.’

Writing in a linked editorial piece in the same edition of the Lancet, US nutrition expert Professor Dariush Mozaffarian, from Tufts University in Boston, said it was time ‘outdated’ guidelines on fat consumption were swept away.

‘Dietary guidelines should be revised to lay to rest the outdated, arbitrary limits on total fat consumption,’ he said.

The scientists, from the University of Barcelona, also found that curbing fat consumption was the least effective way to trim ‘spare tyres’

‘Calorie-obsessed caveats and warnings about healthier, higher-fat choices such as nuts, phenolic-rich vegetable oils, yoghurt, and even perhaps cheese, should also be dropped.

‘We must abandon the myth that lower-fat, lower-calorie products lead to less weight gain.’

But Professor Susan Jebb of Oxford University said the research was inconclusive.

She said: ‘If you increase the fat content of your diet with foods high in mono-unsaturated fat (eg olive oil) you may, or may not, lose a teeny bit more weight than a “not-quite-so-high-fat” diet.

‘It is impossible from this study to draw any conclusion about the impact of the low fat diets on body weight since each group consumed more than the UK average (35% fat) and way more than the World Health Organisation recommendation (30% fat).’

Professor Tom Sanders of King’s College London, added: ‘This paper claims that it is possible to consume a diet with a high proportion of the energy from fat without gaining weight.

‘However, it is important not to confuse a high proportion of energy from fat in the diet with a high intake of fat.

‘The context of the Mediterranean diet is important and it would be wrong to interpret this study as showing that eating lots of healthy fats does not result in weight gain.’