Scientists identify the most effective diet in obesity study

A ketogenic diet produced the strongest results among three diets tested in a clinical study involving people with obesity, fatty liver disease and prediabetes.

Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine studied 42 participants. One group followed a high-fat, low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet, with 4% of calories from carbohydrates and 73% from fat. Another followed a low-fat diet, with 70% of calories from carbohydrates and 15% from fat. The third followed a Mediterranean diet based mainly on vegetables, olive oil and nuts, with moderate amounts of fish and dairy.

Researchers supplied the food and met each participant weekly with a dietitian. The diets were designed to help participants lose 10% of their body weight over about five months.

All three approaches led to clear weight loss and improved insulin sensitivity and glucose control. The ketogenic diet, however, produced the greatest benefits. After four to five months, about half of the participants who had previously had obesity and prediabetes no longer met the criteria for prediabetes. The figure was 29% among those following the Mediterranean diet and 7% among those on the low-fat diet.

Samuel Klein, a study co-author from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, said, “Our data suggest that if someone has a large amount of fat in the liver and prediabetes, limiting carbohydrate intake may have a significant therapeutic effect on metabolism beyond the effect of weight loss alone.”

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We know that weight loss can improve metabolic health in people with obesity. Our data suggest that if someone has a large amount of fat in the liver and prediabetes, limiting carbohydrate intake may have a significant therapeutic effect on metabolism beyond the effect of weight loss alone.