Standard approach to lowering weight is to eat a diet comprised of 30% fat of total calories ingested.
When lipids contribute less than 30% of total energy intake, a diet is considered to be low in fat.
A very low fat diet derives about 15% of calories from fat, 15% of calories from protein and about 70% from carbohydrates.
The Ornish diet is a type of very low fat vegetarian diet which lipids contribute 10% to daily calories with a ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fats of greater than one, and in which persons otherwise eat as desired.
Lifestyle Heart Trial of intense diet counseling, exercise, stress management in patients with coronary artery disease and a 7% fat caloric intake resulted in a weight loss of 24 lb after 1 year, and a 5 year decrease progression rate of coronary heart disease.
Improve glucose tolerance over 5 years in persons with impaired glucose tolerance.
A low-fat diet accounting for 20% of energy intake reduces the risk of colorectal cancer.
The WHI dietary modification trial demonstrated after 19.6 year follow up that a low fat dietary lifestyle with increased vegetables, fruits, and greens reduces breast cancer mortality among post menopausal women.
A low-fat diet does not achieve optimal blood lipid profile, since it does not distinguish between LDL and HDL cholesterol and lowers both.
Lower intake of saturated fat, along with higher intake of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat, is related to lower rates of CVD and of other major causes of death.
Adherence to low-fat and very low-fat diet is challenging since many foods of animal origin but also vegetable oils and oily plant foods must be restricted.
The Women’s Health Initiative Dietary Modification T
rial revealed lower mortality from breast cancer among women who followed a low-fat diet with 20% of calories from lipids then, among those women who follow their usual diet, but the difference was small.
Low fat diets lead to weight loss, as compared with usual diet, but maybe less effective than low carbohydrates or other diets.
Low -fat diets are beneficial on various cardiometabolic factors, including low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and controversial lowering effect on high density lipoprotein cholesterol, and blood pressure with reduced risks of myocardial infarction, diabetes, and death from any cause.