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some more info on the two studies from atkins:

A Study from Duke Researchers

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In one study, Dr. W. S. Yancy of Duke University and colleagues compared the effects of a low-fat/low-calorie diet with those of a low-carbohydrate “Atkins-style” program, looking specifically at weight loss and blood lipid levels (1). The 120 participants in the study were mildly or moderately obese and had elevated blood lipids (total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol or triglycerides). The subjects were randomly placed in two groups, one of which followed a low-carbohydrate diet, the other followed a low-fat/low-calorie diet. Individuals in both groups were instructed on what to eat and how to prepare it, as well as exercise recommendations. Both groups received periodic dietary and psychological support.

The low-carb group was also given nutritional supplements. The low-fat group was told to consume 500 to 1,000 calories less than what would be necessary to maintain their weight. In addition to regularly monitoring the participants’ weights, food records were examined and urine and blood values were recorded.

After six months, 76 percent of the individuals in the low-carb group and 57 percent of those in the low-fat group were still participating in the research study. The former had lost an average of 26.4 pounds; the latter had lost an average of 14.3 pounds. In addition to losing almost twice as much weight as the low-fat group, the low-carb group demonstrated greater improvements in most blood lipids.

The Dr. Robert C. Atkins Foundation, which is distinct from Atkins Nutritionals, helped to fund the research but had no involvement in the work. Writing in an editorial published in this issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine (2), Dr. Walter Willett, of the Harvard School of Public Health, stated, “Dr. Atkins deserves credit for his observations that many people can control their weight by greatly reducing carbohydrate intake and for his funding of trials by independent investigators.”

A Year-Long Study in Philadelphia

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Dr. Linda Stern, of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia and colleagues also compared a low-fat/calorie-controlled diet with a low-carbohydrate one, looking specifically at weight loss and metabolic factors, including the participants’ lipid levels over a 12-month period (3). The 132 participants were obese, with a body mass index (BMI) of at least 35. (A normal-weight BMI is less than 25.) Many also had Type 2 diabetes. Each participant was randomly placed in one of the two groups. Those in the low-carb group were instructed to limit their carb grams to no more than 30 a day; the low-fat group was told how to cut calories by 500 per day from their normal intake and limit calories from fat to less than 30 percent of their daily caloric intake. At six months (4) and again at a year, participants were weighed and their blood values retested.

At one year, the average weight lost in the low-carb group was 11 pounds, while individuals in the low-fat group had lost an average of 8 pounds. Importantly, with regard to decreasing cardiovascular risks, those in the low-carb group had greater improvements in triglycerides and HDL (“good”) cholesterol than those in the low-fat group. (Triglycerides decreased and HDL increased.) Moreover, diabetics in the low-carb group had better control of their blood sugar levels than those in the low-fat group, as measured by hemoglobin A1C. Dr. Stern stated, “I think a low-carbohydrate diet is a good choice because much of our overeating has to do with consumption of too many carbohydrates.”

Improvement in blood sugar control has important implications for reducing the damage to blood vessels that can lead to heart disease. The improvement in lipids in the low-carb group remained throughout the full year of the study, countering suggestions that such improvements occur only in the first few months.

Dr. Willett’s editorial closes with this advice: “Thus we can encourage overweight patients to experiment with various methods for weight control…. Patients should focus on finding ways to eat that they can maintain indefinitely, rather than seeking diets that promote rapid weight loss. For many patients, the roll will have little role.”