People May Not Be Following the Diets They Say They Are
Research shows that low-carb eating might not be so low-carb after all.
If any of your clients tells you they are diligently following a specific diet you are justified in being somewhat skeptical. According to results published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, many people have the habit of mischaracterizing their dietary patterns. For the investigation, self-reported adherence to low-carbohydrate or low-fat diets was evaluated for more than 30,000 participants using responses to questionnaires. From here, adherence to these diets was assessed using dietary intake data from up to 2 24-hour recalls. Of those who reported following what they believe to be a low-carbohydrate diet, estimated adherence to an actually carb-stingy diet as a mere 4.1%. Among those who reported following a low-fat diet, adherence was determined to be about 23.0%. The study authors believe these results demonstrate a need to be cautious when it comes to interpreting individuals’ self-reported food intake, and health professionals should strive to collect more detailed dietary data to better gauge true dietary patterns.
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD, is a James Beard Award–winning food journalist, dietitian and author of the cookbook Rocket Fuel: Power-Packed Food for Sport + Adventure (VeloPress 2016). He has written for dozens of magazines, including Runner’s World, Men’s Health, Shape, Men’s Fitness and Muscle and Fitness.
