November 10/CNN.com -- People who spend a full year on a strict low-carbohydrate diet can lose weight, but they might be happier -- and lose just as many pounds -- if they focus on reducing fat intake instead of carbohydrates, new research suggests.
Weight-loss strategies like Atkins and South Beach promote sharply cutting carb intake so that the body burns fat for energy. These diets are known as ketogenic plans because, in the absence of carbohydrates, the liver breaks down fat into fatty acids and particles known as ketone bodies.