Research

Hormonal

In individuals with normal glucose tolerance (NGT), carbohydrate-modified diets (low glycemic load or high fiber) do not provide a significant weight loss advantage over high-carbohydrate or control diets, and may even result in greater weight regain on high glycemic load diets.

If you have normal blood sugar levels, switching to a low-carbohydrate or low-glycemic diet is unlikely to give you a weight loss advantage over a standard balanced diet. You may even regain weight faster if you switch to a high-glycemic diet, but a low-glycemic diet offers no special benefit. Focus on sustainable eating habits rather than strict carbohydrate restriction.

ModerateRefutesMEDIUM confidence
Conversely, those with normoglycemia at baseline (FPG < 5.6 mmol/L) only regained 1.4 kg more on the high glycemic load diet than on the low glycemic load diet (P = 0.003).
Katie M. Ellison et al. · Obesity Reviews · 2024

Why this rating

Based on secondary analyses of RCTs; consistent findings across multiple studies (DiOGenes, SHOPUS, NUGENOB).

Source

Should carbohydrate‐modified diets be the first option for weight loss in people with impaired glucose metabolism? A scoping review

Katie M. Ellison et al. · Obesity Reviews · 2024

DOI 10.1111/obr.13706

narrative_reviewCited 3×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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