Macro partitioning
An 8-week hypocaloric, very low-carbohydrate diet (≤71g carbs/day) in overweight women promotes significant weight loss, improved blood pressure, and improved lipid profiles (lowered LDL, TAG, and TAG/HDL ratio) without compromising glucose tolerance.
For overweight women, reducing daily carbohydrates to around 70 grams and creating a caloric deficit for 8 weeks can lead to significant weight loss and improvements in blood pressure and cholesterol without negatively affecting blood sugar control. This approach does not require increasing fat or protein intake, and it maintains HDL levels.
Therefore, carbohydrate restriction to 70 g or less with concomitant energy restriction, without changes in protein or fat consumption, promotes weight loss, and improvements in body composition, blood pressure, and blood lipids without compromising glucose tolerance in moderately overweight women.
Why this rating
Small sample size (n=20), short duration (8 weeks), and lack of a control group limit generalizability.
Source
Effects of a hypocaloric, low-carbohydrate diet on weight loss, blood lipids, blood pressure, glucose tolerance, and body composition in free-living overweight women
Kelly A. Meckling et al. · Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology · 2002
DOI 10.1139/y02-140
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