A randomized trial of counseling for fat restriction versus calorie restriction in the treatment of obesity.

Although these data provide little support for the immediate clinical utility of low-fat dietary counseling in obesity treatment, the observation that women in the low-fat group were more compliant with treatment directions, rated the diet as being more palatable, and experienced greater reduction in binge eating scores suggests that this approach warrants further study. In addition, time dependent covariance analysis showed that change in fat intake predicted weight change better than change in total energy intake, thus reinforcing the idea that dietary fat may be an important factor in the etiology and treatment of obesity.