Macro partitioning
A nutritionally balanced, moderately energy-restricted diet (55% carb, 30% fat, 15% protein) induces a metabolic shift in obese women from carbohydrate oxidation to lipid oxidation over a 10-week period.
For obese women, a 10-week diet providing 55% carbs, 30% fat, and 15% protein, set 500 calories below maintenance, successfully shifts the body's fuel preference from burning sugar to burning fat. This shift occurs alongside a modest but significant weight loss of about 4.3 kg, suggesting that balanced moderate restriction is an effective strategy for improving metabolic flexibility without extreme hunger.
In summary, the weight and fat mass losses were associated with a lower carbohydrate oxidation, which were probably compensated by an increase in lipid oxidation without major changes in protein mobilization.
Why this rating
Small sample size (n=7), short duration (10 weeks), and lack of statistical significance for lipid oxidation at the final time point (P<0.10 marginal).
Source
Time-course changes in macronutrient metabolism induced by a nutritionally balanced low-calorie diet in obese women
Idoia Labayen et al. · International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition · 2003
DOI 10.1080/09637480310001642457
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