Atkins tops slimming tests
Overweight women following the controversial low-carb, high-fat Atkins diet did better in the short term and after a year than those on two other popular plans and even a government-approved diet, a Stanford University study has found. They also had slightly better blood pressure and cholesterol readings after a year. A Harvard study last year of thousands of women had similar results, AP reports. Atkins dieters lost an average of 4.5kg - almost twice as much as the next best, who followed the government diet. The diets were randomly assigned to more than 300 women. Given the dieters' initial average weight of almost 86kg, food-policy researcher Kelly Brownell says none of the diets works very well.