Research
Energy balance
Instructing persons to follow a low-fat diet promotes loss of body weight and body fat under ad libitum feeding conditions.
Practitioners may recommend low-fat diets for weight loss in unrestricted eating conditions.
StrongSupportsmedium confidence
But under ad libitum feeding conditions, instructing persons to follow a low-fat diet promotes loss of body weight and body fat.
Why this rating
The synthesis involved a comprehensive review of studies.
Source
Is Dietary Fat “Fattening”? A Comprehensive Research Synthesis
James M. Shikany et al. · Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition · 2010
DOI 10.1080/10408398.2010.491057
Meta-analysisCited 13×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
Related findings · Energy balance
- Achieving a total body weight loss of 10-15% (or >10-15 kg) through Total Diet Replacement (TDR) induces remission of Type 2 Diabetes in individuals with short-duration disease.Strong
- Bariatric surgery is superior to medical management alone for inducing significant long-term weight loss, remission of type 2 diabetes, and reduction in mortality for patients with BMI ≥ 40 or ≥ 35 with comorbidities.Strong
- Achieving type 2 diabetes remission requires significant weight loss (≥15 kg) via major caloric restriction, independent of macronutrient composition.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →