Trial reportJournal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition2016
In a single-blind, matched group design: branched-chain amino acid supplementation and resistance training maintains lean body mass during a caloric restricted diet.
Trial report in Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 54 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Effects of a chickpea protein hydrolysate on exercise-induced biomarkers of muscle damage and inflammation in federated road cyclists.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Calorie restriction regime enhances physical performance of trained athletes.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2018Trial
- Multimechanistic actions of functional factors in enhancing physical strength and endurance: a scoping review of nutritional basis and natural extracts.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Review
- Branched-chain amino acids from plants and the metabolic syndrome: pathways and pharmacological applications.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Review
- Effects of Amino Acid Supplementation on Muscle protein metabolism and adaptation: a narrative review of effects on muscle mass, strength, and sex differences.Physical activity and nutrition · 2025Article
- Optimizing Body Composition During Weight Loss: The Role of Amino Acid Supplementation.Nutrients · 2025Review
- PPDPF-mediated regulation of BCAA metabolism enhances mTORC1 activity and drives cholangiocarcinoma progression.Oncogene · 2025Article
- Sex-Based Effects of Branched-Chain Amino Acids on Strength Training Performance and Body Composition.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The effect of acute branched-chain amino acids ingestion on rate of force development in different time intervals: a controlled crossover study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Article
- Investigation of supplement use and knowledge among Japanese elite athletes for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic/Paralympic games and the Beijing 2022 winter Olympic/Paralympic games.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2023Article
- Lean mass sparing in resistance-trained athletes during caloric restriction: the role of resistance training volume.European journal of applied physiology · 2022Review
- Dietary branched-chain amino acids and odds of obesity among immigrant Filipino women: the Filipino women's diet and health study (FiLWHEL).BMC public health · 2022Article
- Genetic predisposition to impaired metabolism of the branched chain amino acids, dietary intakes, and risk of type 2 diabetes.Genes & nutrition · 2021Article
- Effects of Branched-Chain Amino Acid Supplementation on Spontaneous Seizures and Neuronal Viability in a Model of Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.Journal of neurosurgical anesthesiology · 2019Article
- The Effect of Age upon the Interrelationship of BMI and Inpatient Health Outcomes.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2019Article
- The data do not seem to support a benefit to BCAA supplementation during periods of caloric restriction.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAthletes and active adults many times have the goal of improving/maintaining fitness while losing weight and this is best achieved by caloric restriction in combination with exercise. However, this poses a risk for lean tissue loss, which can limit performance. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplement, in conjunction with heavy resistance training and a carbohydrate caloric-restricted "cut diet" on body composition and muscle fitness.
methodsSeventeen resistance-trained males (21-28 years of age) were randomized to a BCAA group (n = 9) or a carbohydrate (CHO) group (n = 8) who both received their respective supplement during the 8 weeks of a prescribed body building style resistance training protocol. Subjects were prescribed a hypocaloric diet (based upon pre-intervention analysis) that was to be followed during the study.
resultsThe BCAA group lost fat mass (-0.05 ± 0.08 kg;p < .05) and maintained lean mass, while the CHO group lost lean mass (-0.90 ± 0.06 kg; p < .05) and body mass (-2.3 ± 0.7 kg; p < .05). Both groups increased 1RM squat, but the increase in the BCAA group (15.1 ± 2.2 kg; p < .05)was greater (P < 0.05) than the CHO group. The BCAA group increased 1RM bench press (7.1 ± 1.6 kg; P < 0.05), while the CHO group decreased strength (-3.7 ± 2.3 kg; P < 0.05). The only change in muscular endurance was an increase in repetitions to fatigue (5.3 ± 0.2; p < .05) in the CHO group.
conclusionThese results show that BCAA supplementation in trained individuals performing resistance training while on a hypocaloric diet can maintain lean mass and preserve skeletal muscle performance while losing fat mass.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.