Systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials of the effects of low carbohydrate diets on cardiovascular risk factors

  1. F. L. Santos1,
  2. S. S. Esteves2,
  3. A. da Costa Pereira3,
  4. W. S. Yancy Jr4,5,
  5. J. P. L. Nunes3,*

Article first published online: 20 AUG 2012

DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-789X.2012.01021.x

Issue

Obesity Reviews

Obesity Reviews

Volume 13, Issue 11, pages 1048–1066, November 2012

Additional Information

How to Cite

Santos, F. L., Esteves, S. S., da Costa Pereira, A., Yancy Jr, W. S. and Nunes, J. P. L. (2012), Systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials of the effects of low carbohydrate diets on cardiovascular risk factors. Obesity Reviews, 13: 1048–1066. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-789X.2012.01021.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Centro Hospitalar Vila Nova Gaia/Espinho, Gaia, Portugal

  2. 2

    Centro Hospitalar do Porto, Porto, Portugal

  3. 3

    Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal

  4. 4

    Veteran Affairs Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

  5. 5

    Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

*Dr JPL Nunes, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Alameda Prof. Hernani Monteiro, 4200 Porto, Portugal. E-mail: jplnunes@med.up.pt

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 18 OCT 2012
  2. Article first published online: 20 AUG 2012
  3. Received 25 April 2012; revised 10 July 2012; accepted 11 July 2012

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Keywords:

  • Low carbohydrate diet;
  • meta-analysis;
  • obesity

Summary

A systematic review and meta-analysis were carried out to study the effects of low-carbohydrate diet (LCD) on weight loss and cardiovascular risk factors (search performed on PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Scopus databases). A total of 23 reports, corresponding to 17 clinical investigations, were identified as meeting the pre-specified criteria. Meta-analysis carried out on data obtained in 1,141 obese patients, showed the LCD to be associated with significant decreases in body weight (−7.04 kg [95% CI −7.20/−6.88]), body mass index (−2.09 kg m−2[95% CI −2.15/−2.04]), abdominal circumference (−5.74 cm [95% CI −6.07/−5.41]), systolic blood pressure (−4.81 mm Hg [95% CI −5.33/−4.29]), diastolic blood pressure (−3.10 mm Hg [95% CI −3.45/−2.74]), plasma triglycerides (−29.71 mg dL−1[95% CI −31.99/−27.44]), fasting plasma glucose (−1.05 mg dL−1[95% CI −1.67/−0.44]), glycated haemoglobin (−0.21% [95% CI −0.24/−0.18]), plasma insulin (−2.24 micro IU mL−1[95% CI −2.65/−1.82]) and plasma C-reactive protein, as well as an increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (1.73 mg dL−1[95%CI 1.44/2.01]). Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and creatinine did not change significantly, whereas limited data exist concerning plasma uric acid.

LCD was shown to have favourable effects on body weight and major cardiovascular risk factors; however the effects on long-term health are unknown.

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