Calories, Carbs, and Conundrums: The Great "Weight Debate"

3/23/2004

From: Sandra Schlicker, Ph.D., of the American Society for Clinical Nutrition 301-634-7112

News Advisory:

Are the calories you get from eating carbs worse than the calories from fats? Or is it the other way around? What's the truth behind the raging low-carb/low-fat debate? Or, to put it another way: what's the science behind the "weight debate?"

A panel of eminent nutrition scientists finally gets to the bottom of the mystery of weight control at the annual symposium of The American Society of Nutrition Sciences/American Society for Clinical Nutrition (ASNS/ASCN) on April 19 (10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.). "The Weight Debate," part of Experimental Biology 2004 (EB 2004), takes place at the Washington Convention Center and promises to shed some scientific light on what amounts to an ocean of dieting and weight management claims.

Speakers include

-- Dale A. Schoeller, PhD whose topic "Is a Calorie a Calorie" examines possible mechanisms for the increased rates of weight loss observed on high protein and/or low carbohydrate diets

-- Michael B. Zemel, PhD, who will look at the role of calcium and weight management, part of a growing body of research supporting the view that factors other than metabolic fuels have an important metabolic function

-- George A. Brooks, PhD, who will explore the output part of the calorie equation, discussing how the Institute of Medicine decided to include a physical activity recommendation among its dietary recommendations

-- Steven N. Blair, PED, who will try to answer the obvious question when it comes to physical activity: how much is enough, anyway?

The session, a project of the ASNS/ASCN Public Information Committee, will be moderated by Steven B. Heymsfield, MD of St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital, Columbia University. Possible quotes: "After all the fad-diet hype consumers have been subjected to, it's good, for a change, to have a robust public debate about the actual science around weight management," says Dr. Heymsfield. Panelists will be available to answer questions after the symposium.

With the federal government's numerous initiatives to address the obesity issue, there has never been more need for an accurate, science-based discussion on the effects and possible remedies for this epidemic. Scientists have been working to uncover the underlying causes and health strategies for dealing with obesity, and presentations at the symposium will run the gamut from low- carb diets and metabolic fuels in energy regulation, to energy balance topics like metabolism and the storage of fat, calories, and physical activity strategies.

EB 2004 is a multi-society, interdisciplinary, biomedical, scientific meeting featuring symposia, sessions, and exhibits. More than 12,000 independent scientists representing not only ASNS and ASCN, but a score of other scientific societies will be attending the five-day meeting.