Diets 'can reverse artery damage'

Weight-loss diets can reverse life-threatening artery damage in obese individuals, a study has shown. Skip related content

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Low-carbohydrate "Atkins"-style diets, low fat and Mediterranean diets were equally effective, scientists found.

Tests showed that patients who went on the diets, lost moderate amounts of weight and lowered their blood pressure, developed healthier arteries.
Researchers used ultrasound to measure the wall volume and thickness of carotid arteries, which supply the brain with blood.
Thicker and heavier arteries indicated a build up of fatty deposits on the blood vessel walls, a condition known as atherosclerosis which is closely associated with heart attacks and strokes.
After two years, the carotid arteries of patients on the diets had lost 5% of their wall volume on average and 1.1% of their thickness.
Compared with less successful patients, those whose arteries had improved most lost more weight and underwent a greater reduction in blood pressure.
The findings linked sustained moderate weight loss with a reversal of artery damage.
Study leader Dr Iris Shai, from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, said: "Long-term adherence to weight-loss diets is effective for reversing carotid arteriosclerosis as long as we stick to one of the current options of healthy diet strategy.