Photo: CC--dboy

Very little data has been collected about how body mass relates to celiac disease in children in the United States. Recently, a team of researchers sought to document the way celiac disease presents in children with normal and with elevated body mass index (BMI) for age, and to study BMI changes in those kids following a gluten-free diet.

Photo: CC--Newbirth35

Some rumors have been circulating in the health foods community that gluten-free eating can encourage weight loss. Unfortunately, this theory is completely unfounded. Wendy Marcason, a registered dietician, published an article in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in November that reviews some of the theories and controversy surrounding this issue. The article concludes that there is no scientific evidence to support a connection between eating gluten-free and losing weight.

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This is a controversial topic. Elizabeth Hasselbeck`s book, The G-Free Diet (1), has been attacked because it suggests that a gluten free diet can help some people lose weight. One celiac support group has condemned this book as misleading (2).  However, I thought it was a pretty good book, and I’m grateful for the public attention that Hasselbeck has drawn to celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity.

New info on gluten-free diet and weight loss. Photo: CC-GenBug

Because there's no scientific evidence to suggest that adopting a gluten-free diet is a good way to lose weight, people who follow a gluten-free diet solely for the purposes of losing weight may be setting themselves up for failure.

Celiac, a genetic autoimmune disease, has long been associated with a medical picture of patients that look underweight, and malnourished. However, recent studies are finding that obesity and a high BMI (Body Mass Index) may also be prominent in celiac patients. New studies were conducted to determine BMI changes after initiation of a gluten-free diet, and they offer clues to the importance of eating gluten free after being diagnosed with celiac disease.

Celiac.com 11/29/2006 – Contrary to popular beliefs (not to metion outdated medical training),

This article appeared in the Spring 2006 edition of Celiac.coms Scott-Free Newsletter. Celiac.

This article appeared in the Winter 2006 edition of Celiac.coms Scott-Free Newsletter. Celiac.