'Slow-slimming women' not welcome on Banting crash-course

A disciple of Tim Noakes's Banting diet has banned women from a 12-week slimming programme, claiming they don't lose weight as fast as men.

Dr Glen Hagemann, who appeared alongside Noakes at an R850-a-head Banting seminar in Durban this week, said men responded better to low-carb, high-fat diets and women's results were "variable".

A strong advocate of Noakes's eating regimen, Hagemann told one woman who asked to join his programme that he was only taking men because "women don't lose weight fast enough".

When asked about his statement, Hagemann, who has been the Sharks rugby team doctor for 13 years, said he was not closing the door on women forever, adding: "One day I will probably offer a programme to women, but at the moment I have enough insulin-resistant men to keep me busy."

But the Durban woman who was turned away said she was very disappointed.

"It's a real pity it excludes women; I would have thought any attempt to understand and help women on the low-carb, high-fat diet would be vital to the promotion of this lifestyle.

"That women seem not to respond as well as men should be taken particularly seriously if this new way of eating is to gain wider acceptance by women," said the woman, who did not want to be named.

Hagemann said he was only accepting men who were insulin resistant. "A low-carb nutritional strategy is particularly relevant to this population," he said.

Hagemann said insulin-resistant women would also benefit from the Banting diet but "they seem to be more variable in their weight-loss response".

"Men and women's approach to weight loss is very different, so it makes sense for them to have different programmes."

Even Noakes is unsure about why some women lose weight at a slower rate.

Asked if he had noted slower weight loss in women than in men who follow the Banting diet, Noakes said the issue had not been studied systematically. "It must mean that some women are less likely to reduce their calorie consumption dramatically in response to a reduction in carbohydrates in the diet," he said.

Why this happens is not known, "but clearly relates to the brain-signalling mechanism that indicates when to stop eating".

Hagemann's participants undergo a clinical assessment, and then meet weekly.

He said the results of the first programme, which included 16 men, "were very encouraging" with the average weight loss being 7.2kg over the 12 weeks.

"Virtually everyone reduced their 10-year risk of having a heart attack significantly and most of the participants were no longer insulin resistant at the end of the programme," said Hagemann.

He believes nutrition should be personalised. "We each need to experiment to find the right eating plan for our particular genetic makeup."

Jade Seeliger, a spokeswoman for the Association for Dietetics in South Africa, said women were likely to lose weight more slowly than men because they have a lower metabolic rate.