Not so, Dr. Ornish said. In the sharpest exchange of the debate, Dr. Ornish criticized the lack of research done on the effects of Dr. Atkins' diet. As for critics who say Dr. Ornish's low-fat diet is unappealing, he said that's because they are not cooking the right way. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, who organized the debate and had the final word, made no effort to sort out the myriad of conflicting claims. But he suggested that it may be time for government researchers to get involved in evaluating the various diets.
Exercise is good.
Added sugars and refined carbohydrates, such as white bread, are not. Beyond that, they couldn't agree on what causes people to become fat, much less how to reverse it. We've gone to all the extremes now. Maybe somewhere in between is where we need to go. Diets can reduce weight, but the question is whether people can keep it off, said Mr. Ayoob, a nutritionist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.