Sqad - how can you say that low-carb/high fat diets don't work because "they've been around for 15 years and we are still getting fatter"? When have you ever heard a public health body advise people to follow lc/hf? Never. We continue to get fatter as a nation (as a developed world, in fact) because the messages we're receiving from the government, the NHS, all the official sources are still perpetuating the "low fat, low calorie" myth. How can you expect people to be slimmer when the low carb/high fat message has been demonised by almost every public information source and we're still being told to "eat less, exercise more"? I seem to think you're a retired GP so you might be interested to know that a friend of mine, also a GP, was persuaded by me (and by her experience with patients) to review the actual science behind this dietary advice. Having done that she now advises it to her obese patients. In the USA, where my sister lives, the diabetician who saw her regarding her type 2 diabetes care, was the one who initially recommended this diet to her. He explained its beneficial, scientific basis and the growing proof that it is the "fat/calorie" myth which has caused our current epidemic of obesity. Check out the science - there are lots of websites, but
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf is a very good place to start.