This study, just published in Nutrition and Diabetes (a medical journal), showed participants lost an average of 11.5 Kg (25.3 pounds) at one year. This is the largest weight loss of any randomized control trial (RCT) where participants had no restriction on calories and were not required to exercise.* The participants of the BROAD study from Gisborne, New Zealand exchanged their standard Western diet for a very low-fat, whole food plant-based (WFPB) diet (The McDougall Diet). Two of the lead authors, Dr. Luke Wilson and Dr. Nicholas Wright, were once trained as students at the McDougall Program in Santa Rosa, California.
Gisborne is a small, rural city in New Zealand, a country with a very large meat and dairy consumption. This small community had limited access to healthful convenient foods; with no large organic supermarkets nor vegan cafes and vegan-friendly restaurants. Even though "the starch-based diet" required some major changes from the Kiwis' favorite foods (meat, dairy, sugary beverages, and other junk food), the study participants enthusiastically enjoyed the new meals, and especially appreciated the results of looking and feeling better.
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