Macro partitioning
Adherence to a low-carbohydrate diet (LCD) in obese adults results in significant, sustained reductions in body weight, BMI, abdominal circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting triglycerides, fasting glucose, glycated hemoglobin, and insulin, alongside a significant increase in HDL cholesterol.
If you are obese and follow a low-carbohydrate diet, you can expect significant weight loss (average ~7kg) and improvements in blood pressure, blood sugar, and triglycerides. The specific carbohydrate limit varies by study (some <30g, some <40% of calories), but the trend holds across these variations. You do not need to strictly limit fat intake to see these benefits, as triglycerides tend to drop regardless.
Meta-analysis carried out on data obtained in 1,141 obese patients, showed the LCD to be associated with significant decreases in body weight (-7.04 kg [95% CI -7.20/-6.88]), body mass index (-2.09 kg m-2 [95% CI -2.15/-2.04]), abdominal circumference (-5.74 cm [95% CI -6.07/-5.41]), systolic blood pressure (-4.81 mm Hg [95% CI -5.33/-4.29]), diastolic blood pressure (-3.10 mm Hg [95% CI -3.45/-2.74]), plasma triglycerides (-29.71 mg dL-1 [95% CI -31.99/-27.44]), fasting plasma glucose (-1.05 mg dL-1 [95% CI -1.67/-0.44]), glycated haemoglobin (-0.21% [95% CI -0.24/-0.18]), plasma insulin (-2.24 micro IU mL-1 [95% CI -2.65/-1.82]) and plasma C-reactive protein, as well as an increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (1.73 mg dL-1 [95%CI 1.44/2.01]).
Why this rating
Systematic review and meta-analysis of 17 randomized clinical trials with >1,000 subjects, though heterogeneity was high (I2 > 90% for many metrics).
Source
Systematic review and meta‐analysis of clinical trials of the effects of low carbohydrate diets on cardiovascular risk factors
Filipe Lima Santos et al. · Obesity Reviews · 2012
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