Research

Hormonal

Improvements in insulin sensitivity (HOMA-IR) and intrahepatic lipid content during caloric restriction are transient and not maintained during the weight maintenance phase, unlike other cardiometabolic markers.

Be aware that while caloric restriction improves insulin sensitivity during the weight loss phase, this specific benefit may not persist once you stop losing weight, even if you maintain the lower calorie intake. Other cardiovascular benefits, like lower blood pressure and better cholesterol, do persist. This suggests that maintaining a healthy weight and diet is crucial, but you might need additional strategies (like exercise or specific dietary components) to sustain insulin sensitivity improvements long-term.

GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) decreased during weight loss in the CR group... but this decrease was not maintained during weight maintenance... In conclusion... improvements in insulin sensitivity were only transient.
Jasper Most et al. · American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism · 2018

Why this rating

Based on the same robust RCT design, using HOMA-IR as a proxy for insulin sensitivity.

Source

Significant improvement in cardiometabolic health in healthy nonobese individuals during caloric restriction-induced weight loss and weight loss maintenance

Jasper Most et al. · American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism · 2018

DOI 10.1152/ajpendo.00261.2017

rct · n=53Cited 118×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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