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Editors’ comments on the contributions from Dr Hall and colleagues and Dr Ludwig and colleagues

International Journal of Obesity volume 43, page 2349 (2019)Cite this article

Although the IJO did not publish the original paper from Dr Ludwig’s group [1] that triggered these articles [2, 3], we were intrigued by Dr Hall’s analysis [2] and felt that in an area of such direct relevance to obesity development and maintenance it would be valuable to publish the views of Dr Hall and give Dr Ludwig an opportunity to respond to the points raised. It should be made clear that it is not the intention of the Editors of IJO to comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the two sets of arguments, or to indicate whether we think either is more persuasive than the other. We do think that the opportunities we have given these authors is of benefit to nutrition science, especially in the era of Open Science and availability of original data, as it shows the differences in interpretation and data analysis that can occur and the subsequent impact on the conclusions drawn.

One of the issues that these articles raise is the need for authors and readers to be clearly aware of the limitations present in the methods used and the need for accurate data on energy intake and body composition and weight changes when energy balance is being studied. The Doubly Labelled Water technique has clearly enabled major advances to be made in the study of free-living energy expenditure over periods of 7–14 days depending on age and level of energy turnover. However, it should be recognised that the technique does not actually measure energy expenditure but is an indirect method for estimating CO2 production. To convert this to energy expenditure it is necessary to know the average respiratory quotient over the 10–14 days of measurement. As long as someone is in energy balance then the dietary food quotient provides a reasonable estimate of the respiratory quotient. Thus, the use of doubly labelled water for measuring energy expenditure is based on a number of assumptions including that body weight does not change and that macronutrient composition of the diet is stable. These issues need to be recognised when planning future studies of this type, and the readers of the IJO need to be aware of the issues so they can make informed judgements of the data presented in future papers.

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References

  1. Ebbeling CB, Feldman HA, Klein GL, Wong JMW, Bielak L, Steltz SK. et al. Effects of a low carbohydrate diet on energy expenditure during weight loss maintenance: randomized trial. BMJ. 2018;363:k4583.

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  2. Hall KD, Guo J, Speakman JR. Do low-carbohydrate diets increase energy expenditure? Int J Obes (Lond). 2019. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-019-0456-3.

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  3. Ludwig DS, Lakin PR, Wong WW, Ebbeling CB. Scientific discourse in the era of open science: a response to Hall et al. regarding the Carbohydrate-Insulin Model. Int J Obes (Lond). 2019. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-019-0466-1. [Epub ahead of print].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Manakin Sabot, VA, USA

    Richard L. Atkinson

  2. School of Life Sciences, Nottingham University Medical School, Nottingham, United Kingdom

    Ian A. Macdonald

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  1. Richard L. Atkinson
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  2. Ian A. Macdonald
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Correspondence to Richard L. Atkinson.

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Atkinson, R.L., Macdonald, I.A. Editors’ comments on the contributions from Dr Hall and colleagues and Dr Ludwig and colleagues. Int J Obes 43, 2349 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-019-0478-x

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