A respected Australian science institute is to publish a book in the UK, which it believes could top the bestseller lists and lend scientific credibility to the business of weight loss.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has devised what it claims could be the perfect diet. Its Total Wellbeing Diet has already knocked the latest Harry Potter and The Da Vinci Code off the top of bestseller lists in Australia, selling 100,000 copies a month in a country where obesity is a serious problem.

The book claims to offer a "scientifically proven" weight-loss programme "that challenges old conventions and theories." It evolved out of research by the organization into the claims and counter-claims of popular diet gurus particularly those generated by the high-protein, low carbohydrate Atkins diet.

CSIRO's clinical research institute in Adelaide is known for its work on the nutritional and genetic factors underlying obesity, heart disease, bowel cancer and diabetes. When high-protein diets started to become popular, and amid concern that those who ate substantial amounts of meat and cheese and avoided roughage might suffer ill effects in the long term, a number of dieticians asked CSIRO for its opinion.

After discussions between Peter Clifton, CSIRO's director, and senior research dietician Manny Noakes, the organization decided to devise proper clinical trials to test the effect on health and weight of diets consisting of different ratios of carbohydrate, protein and fat.

It recruited 120 obese or overweight women and split them between two diets high protein and low fat, or high carbohydrate and low fat - for 12 weeks. It found the high-protein diet was much more successful. The women on it lost 25 per cent more weight than those on the high-carbohydrate diet and found it easier to stick to because they felt full more quickly.

A lot of the weight loss was in the abdominal area, which the researchers considered crucial. Women with large amounts of fat around the middle often have high blood pressure, high glucose levels and high blood fats (triglycerides). The high-protein diet brought down triglyceride levels and, therefore, the risk of heart attack or stroke.

CSIRO says the diet was "so popular" it decided to publish it as a book and got the publisher Penguin involved. It was a radical move for a highly respected scientific institution, said one observer, "a bit like the Royal Society producing a bestseller."

The diet plan is high in protein, moderate in carbohydrates and low fat. Dinner is 200 grams of lean red meat (beef, veal or lamb) at least four times a week, fish twice a week and chicken with the fat trimmed off or other meat on the remaining days. Lunch every day is 100 grams of ham, fish or other high-protein sources.

But there are moderate amounts of carbohydrate as well two slices of wholegrain bread and one serving of high-fibre cereal a day and two servings of low-fat dairy foods. Vegetables and fruit are plentiful and two glasses of wine a week are permitted.

It may be high in protein, but it is definitely not Atkins, said Dr Clifton. "The Total Wellbeing Diet is a high-protein, low-fat, moderate-carbohydrate diet. It is very different to the Atkins diet, which is very low in carbohydrate and very high in fat and may elevate cholesterol, especially if little weight is lost. The Total Wellbeing Diet contains abundant fruit and vegetables and plasma folate levels are well maintained," he said.

Source: China Daily