Effect of low-calorie ketogenic vs low-carbohydrate diets on body composition and other biomarkers of overweight/obese women: An 8 weeks randomised controlled trial

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of a low-calorie ketogenic diet (LCKD) (10–15% carbohydrate, 60–75% fat, 10–25% protein) compared with a low-carbohydrate diet (LCD) (40% carbohydrate, 30% fat, 30% protein) on body composition, fasting blood sugar (FBS) and lipid profile in overweight/obese women. The results showed a significant difference (p-value ≤0.005) in the change of the BMI (−2.79 and −1.88 kg/m²), basal metabolic rate (BMR) (−72.45 and −50.42 kcal), skeletal muscle mass (SMM) (0.68 and 0.67 kg), muscle mass (MM) (2.2 and 1.0 kg), fat-free mass (FFM) (−2.34 and −1.04 kg) and visceral fat rate (VF) (−3.55 and −1.95) between the intervention groups (p-value <0.05). There was a significant difference between both interventions in the change of FBS and lipid profile (p-value was <0.001). Both interventions improved BMI and affected body composition positively, reducing abdominal adiposity, and improving the lipid profile and FBS, during the time in which the research was conducted with higher change differences in the LCKD within 8 weeks only. Accordingly, conducting longer-term research on these dietary patterns is recommended to approve its effect on the long-term and the follow-up.