Nonobese individuals have better mood and overall health with 25 percent calorie restriction, a new clinical trial has found.
A past animal study has found that consuming low-calorie diet can improve life span. This is why researchers from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center wanted to investigate whether calorie restriction (CR) would have negative outcomes in humans. They want to establish if individuals on highly restricted caloric intake would have lower stamina, decreased libido, irritability and depressed mood, as earlier speculated, or if they would have a significantly improved quality of life (QOL).
For their study, 218 individuals with body mass index ranging from 22 to 28 were divided into two groups. One group was asked to 25 percent calorie restriction in a span of two years, while the other group, which will serve as the control group, was given the liberty to consume the number of calories they prefer. Individuals were also asked to answer a self-report questionnaire to assess quality of life, sleep, mood and sexual function.
At the end of the first year, the calorie restricted group has already shed an average of 15.2 percent of their body weight. After two years, the researchers compared results with their baseline data and found that the calorie restricted group had an average weight loss of 16.7 pounds, while the control group lost only less than a pound.
The calorie restricted group also had better mood and sleep, improved overall health and enhanced sexual drive and relationship.
"Calorie restriction among primarily overweight and obese persons has been found to improve QOL, sleep and sexual function, and the results of the present study indicate that two years of CR is unlikely to negatively affect these factors in healthy adults; rather, CR is likely to provide some improvement," the study authors concluded.
The study squashed the notion that restricting diet would have negative effects; in fact, it may help prevent individuals to become overweight or obese early on.
The study was led by Corby K. Martin and was published online in JAMA Internal Medicine on May 2.
Photo: Chris Vaughan | Flickr
