Vegetarian diet twice effective in losing weight, finds study

New Delhi : Always wanted to lose those extra KGs from the body weight? Here is a scientifically proven solution. A new study has found that eating vegetables, grains, legumes, fruits and nuts may be almost twice as effective in reducing body weight as conventional low-calorie diets.

As per researchers, the vegetarian diet helped in reduction of muscles leading to improvement in glucose and lipid metabolism, reducing an average loss of 6.2 kg compared to 3.2 kg for the conventional diet.

"The finding is important for people who are trying to lose weight, including those suffering from metabolic syndrome and/or Type 2 diabetes. It is also relevant to anyone who takes their weight management seriously and wants to stay lean and healthy," said lead author Hana Kahleova from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington DC.

The study has been published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

In the study, it was observed that Subfascial fat (fat on the surface of muscles) was only reduced in response to the vegetarian diet. Intramuscular fat (fat inside muscles) was more greatly reduced by the vegetarian diet.

"Vegetarian diets proved to be the most effective for weight loss. However, we also showed that a vegetarian diet is much more effective at reducing muscle fat, thus improving metabolism," Kahleova said.