A vegan diet could boost weight loss more that standard cholesterol-control diets, despite an increase in carbohydrate intake, a US study has shown.

Researchers from George Washington University School of Medicine studied 63 overweight or obese postmenopausal women who were split into two groups. Over a 14-week period, one group followed a low-fat, vegan intervention diet consisting of vegetables, fruits, grains and legumes and the other was placed on the National Cholesterol Education Program where cholesterol intake was less than 200mg per day.

During the program, participants on the vegan diet received 75 per cent of their energy from carbohydrates, while the cholesterol control group received just 55 per cent.

Those on the vegan diet lost a mean of 5.8 kg, compared to 3.8 kg for the group controlling cholesterol, and they also showed greater reductions in body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference.

Researchers said that the effect of the vegan diet on the thermic effect of food merits further exploration, and that longer-term trials would be necessary to determine what the longer-term clinical improvements may be.