Researchers in a study said that in order to lose weight it does not matter whether you go on a low fat diet or low carb one, what matters is that you consume fewer calories. 

A two year study to get to the root of this problem of losing weight was conducted by experts at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, part of the Louisiana State University system. The study was conducted on hundreds of overweight people and was financed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. 

The study published in the Feb. 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine compared a variety of diet plans some which focused on low fat, some were high in protein and others low in carbohydrates. They found that all the diet plans worked as long as you followed a simple mantra of consuming fewer calories. 

Dr. Frank Sacks, a lead researcher and professor of cardiovascular disease prevention at the Harvard School of Public Health said the study came up with "a very simple message that cuts through all the hype: To lose weight, it comes down to how much you put in your mouth - it's not a question of eating a particular type of diet."

In the study Sacks and his colleagues examined 811 overweight people, about 40 percent of them men, from Boston and Baton Rouge, La and randomly assigned them one of four diets of which two were low fat diets. The diets were based on the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet, and did not follow plans such as the Atkins or South Beach diets.

The first diet was a low-fat, average-protein diet made up of 20 percent fat, 15 percent protein and 65 percent carbohydrates, the second a low-fat, high-protein diet of 20 percent fat, 25 percent protein and 55 percent carbohydrates. 

The third group was assigned a high-fat, average-protein plan containing 40 percent fat, 15 percent protein and 45 percent carbohydrates and the fourth a high-fat, high-protein diet of 40 percent fat, 25 percent protein and 35 percent carbohydrates. All four groups were required to keep their daily saturated fat intake to no more than 8 % of their daily calorie intake and to try to consume a minimum of 20 grams of dietary fiber daily. All the groups were required to keep physical activity to 90 minutes a week. 

Each participant was given a personalized calorie goal, and most aimed for 750 calories below their daily needs with no one eating fewer than 1,200 calories a day.

All four groups received both group and individual counseling and were required to enter their diet and exercise information into a computer program that provided feedback on how well they were meeting their dietary goals. 

About 80 % of the participants completed the two year study and at the end of six months participants in each group had lost an average of about 13 pounds. At the end of two years the average weight loss reported was 6-7 pounds and regardless of the group lost 1-3 inches from the waist. Participants of all four groups reported similar satisfaction with their diets and blood pressure and cholesterol levels were similar between the groups. 

"This study has a very practical, useful message," said Sacks. "It doesn't really matter much the specific type of diet -- see what suits you best. The focus should be on reducing calories. That's what really counts. On average, no one diet was better than another. If you want to lose weight he said, "Eat a heart-healthy diet and be very careful about how much you eat."

Keith Ayoob, a registered dietitian at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, says it comes down to picking a balanced diet that you can maintain "for the long haul."

George Bray, the other lead researcher and a professor of medicine at Pennington said it's best to figure out what kind of plan works best for you.