Research
Energy balance
The thermic effect of food (TEF) for a carbohydrate load is significantly higher in individuals adapted to a high-carbohydrate diet compared to those adapted to a high-fat diet.
Your body burns more energy processing carbs if you are used to eating them. If you switch to a high-carb diet, your TEF increases, which might slightly aid in energy expenditure, but this is a minor factor compared to total intake.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
The thermic effect of the CHO load was 6.5 +/- 0.4% on the mixed diet, and 5.2 +/- 0.5% on the high-fat, 8.6 +/- 0.4% on the high-CHO diet.
Why this rating
Controlled clinical trial with indirect calorimetry.
Source
Nutritional influences on lipogenesis and thermogenesis after a carbohydrate meal
K. J. Acheson et al. · American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism · 1984
DOI 10.1152/ajpendo.1984.246.1.e62
crossover · n=16Cited 249×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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