Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Wednesday 21 February 2018
Carbs, fat, DNA? Weight loss is finicky, new study shows

By LINDSEY TANNER Tuesday in the Journal of 247 grams previously. Both
AP Medical Writer the American Medical As- groups reduced their daily
CHICAGO (AP) — A preci- sociation. calorie intake by an aver-
sion nutrition approach to Participants had 22 health age of about 500 calories.
weight loss didn't hold up in education classes during The study was well-con-
a study testing low fat ver- the study and were en- ducted but because par-
sus low carb depending on couraged to be physically ticipants were not provid-
dieters' DNA profiles. active, but the focus was ed with specific foods and
Previous research has sug- on what they ate. They self-reported their food
gested that a person's in- were advised to choose choices, it wasn’t rigorous
sulin levels or certain genes high-quality foods but were enough to disprove the
could interact with differ- not given suggested calo- idea that certain genes
ent types of diets to influ- rie limits nor were they pro- and insulin levels may af-
ence weight loss. vided with specific foods. fect which types of diets
Stanford University re- Results are based on what lead to weight loss, said
searchers examined this they reported eating. Dr. David Ludwig, a Boston
idea with 600 overweight This Sept. 15, 2011, file photo shows the nutrition label on a can During the first two months, Children’s Hospital obesity
adults who underwent ge- of soda in Philadelphia. A precision nutrition weight loss ap- dieters in each group were researcher.
proach didn't hold up in a study testing low fat versus low carb
netic and insulin testing depending on dieters' genetic or metabolic makeup. told to limit carbohydrates Dr. Frank Hu, nutrition chief
before being randomly as- Associated Press or fats to 20 grams daily, at Harvard’s School of Pub-
signed to reduce fat or car- about the amount that's in lic Health, has called pre-
bohydrate intake. Also, some people lost as healthy fats and ate the 1 1/2 slices of whole wheat cision nutrition a promising
Gene analyses identified much as 60 pounds and most vegetables lost the bread and a handful of approach and said the
variations linked with how others gained 15 pounds — most weight. nuts respectively. They study wasn’t a comprehen-
the body processes fats or more evidence that genet- The results suggest that "pre- were allowed to increase sive test of all gene varia-
carbohydrates, which the ic characteristics and diet cision medicine is not as im- that to more manageable tions that might affect indi-
researchers thought would type appeared to make no portant as eating mindfully, levels during the rest of the vidual responses to weight
make them more likely to difference. getting rid of packaged, study. loss diets.
lose weight on a low-fat or What seemed to make processed food" and Fat intake in the low-fat “In any weight loss diets,
low-carb diet. a difference was health- avoiding unhealthy habits group averaged 57 grams adherence to the diet and
But weight loss averaged ful eating. Participants on like eating while watching during the study versus 87 the overall quality of the
about 13 pounds over a both diets who consumed television, said lead author grams beforehand; carb in- diet are probably more im-
year, regardless of genes, the fewest processed Christopher Gardner. take in the low-carb group portant than any other fac-
insulin levels or diet type. foods, sugary drinks, un- The study was published averaged 132 grams versus tors,” Hu said.q

Volcanic blast reshaped summit

of Indonesia's Mount Sinabung

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — cubic meters (56.5 million a billowing column of ash
The eruption of Indonesia's cubic feet). rose in the background.
Mount Sinabung that shot The volcano in North Suma- Mount Sinabung is among
ash 5 kilometers (3 miles) tra, which has been active more than 120 active vol-
high also blew away much since 2010 after centuries canoes in Indonesia, which
of the mountain's summit. of dormancy, erupted ex- is prone to seismic upheav-
Before and after images plosively on Monday morn- al due to its location on the
from Indonesia's Center for ing. Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an
Volcanology and Geologi- Hot ash clouds rolled down arc of volcanoes and fault
cal Hazard Mitigation show its slopes, traveling as far as lines encircling the Pacific
an enormous chunk miss- 4.9 kilometers from the cra- Basin.q
ing from the peak, which it ter, and ash reached Lhok-
called "completely annihi- seumawe, a city more than
This undated combo photo released by the Center for Volca- lated." 260 kilometers (162 miles) to
nology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) of Indone- Volcanologist Devy Kamil the northwest.
sian Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry shows the peak of Syahbana said Tuesday No-one was injured. Video
Mount Sinabung in Karo, North Sumatra before, top, and after
with a graphic line superimposed on the area of the new crater that the chunk, known as showed screaming children
following its eruption on Monday. the "lava dome," had a vol- fleeing a school outside the
Associated Press ume of at least 1.6 million volcano's exclusion zone as