The Clinical Study

To prove that Haub’s results were accurate, a group of researchers at Wageningen University in the Netherlands published a study similar to Haub’s in 2022.

It was a randomized control trial that compared the effects of a high-nutrient versus low-nutrient calorie-deficit diet. 

The trial included 110 overweight men and women split into three groups – high-nutrient, low-nutrient, and a control group. 

The high and low-nutrient groups were in a 25% calorie restriction over the course of 12 weeks, while the control group maintained their usual diet. They were all instructed to maintain their usual level of exercise.

The high-nutrient group ate foods high in plant proteins and unsaturated fats, and low in fructose. Similar to Haub, the low-nutrient group ate foods high in saturated fats, sugar, and carbohydrates. Both diets were described as nutrient adequate.

Despite the difference in diet, both groups saw improved metabolic markers and similar losses in body fat, liver fat, blood pressure, and insulin sensitivity, to name a few. These results, like insulin sensitivity, improved both groups’ risk factors for type 2 diabetes. 

This clinical trial expanded on Haub’s experiment and provided evidence that his findings were true. People will lose weight when they are in a calorie deficit, no matter where the calories come from, and their metabolic markers will improve. 

However, the high-nutrient group lost more weight on average and their metabolic markers were slightly healthier than the low-nutrient group. 

“They had a weekly dietician check-in and they were prescribing the diet but there certainly could be discrepancies,” Tilsen said. “They would have to self-report if they ate anything in addition to what they give them. So there could be at least a little bit of margin for error in what they found.”