López-Espinoza MÁ, Chacón-Moscoso S, Sanduvete-Chaves S, Ortega-Maureira MJ, Barrientos-Bravo T. Effect of a Ketogenic Diet on the Nutritional Parameters of Obese Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Nutrients 2021;
13:nu13092946. [PMID:
34578824 PMCID:
PMC8467306 DOI:
10.3390/nu13092946]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The effect of a ketogenic diet (KD) on biochemical parameters and nutritional status has been the subject of debate over the years, as several randomized clinical trials (RCTs) obtained different results.
METHOD
A systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis of RCTs comparing KD with a balanced diet was performed by means of a search of PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Web of Science. Trials where the method for measuring the response variables was unclear, those that considered pathologies other than chronic non-communicable diseases and those with participants receiving pharmacological treatment for obesity were excluded from the comparison.
RESULTS
Of the studies included in the meta-analysis, no statistically significant standardized mean differences were observed for body mass index (BMI) (d = -0.457, p = 0.359), total cholesterol, COL-T (d = 0.230, p = 0.591), high-density lipoprotein, HDL (d = -0.028, p = 0.934), low-density lipoprotein, LDL (d = 0.528, p = 0.173), or triglycerides, TG (d = -0.283, p = 0.222), with high values of heterogeneity. The percentage of women included in the studies is a significant moderating variable in terms of BMI ratio (z = -6.68, p < 0.001) and TG (z = -2.27, p = 0.023).
CONCLUSION
A KD shows no more benefits on nutritional parameters than a balanced diet, and adverse effects of being on the diet are sometimes reported.
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