SynthesisBMJ open2018
Does high-carbohydrate intake lead to increased risk of obesity? A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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
40 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 78 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evaluating agreement between individual nutrition randomised controlled trials and cohort studies - a meta-epidemiological study.BMC medicine · 2025Pooled it
- An Empirical Evaluation of the Impact Scenario of Pooling Bodies of Evidence from Randomized Controlled Trials and Cohort Studies in Nutrition Research.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2022Pooled it
- Interactions Between Genetic Risk and Macronutrient Intake on Obesity-Related Traits in Sri Lankan Adults.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Interaction between polygenic scores and dietary intake in relation to BMI in Canadian children.Journal of nutritional science · 2026Article
- Wheat Flour Intake Promotes Weight Gain and Metabolic Changes in Mice.Molecular nutrition & food research · 2026Article
- Western Diet and Cognitive Decline: A Hungarian Perspective-Implications for the Design of the Semmelweis Study.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Article
- Changes in body mass index and three-year incidence of overweight/obesity among urban women aged 30-40 years in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India: A non-concurrent cohort study.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2024Article
- Association of quality and quantity of macronutrients intake with obesity, new anthropometric indices, lipid accumulation, and blood lipid risk index in Tehranian women.Food science & nutrition · 2024Article
- The association of dietary carbohydrate quality and quantity with obesity among Iranian adolescents: a case-control study.BMC pediatrics · 2024Article
- The effect of a nurse-led low carbohydrate regimen on anthropometric and laboratory parameters of patients with metabolic syndrome: a quasi-experimental study.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- The different association between fat mass distribution and intake of three major nutrients in pre- and postmenopausal women.PloS one · 2024Article
- High-Carbohydrate Diet Consumption Poses a More Severe Liver Cholesterol Deposition than a High-Fat and High-Calorie Diet in Mice.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Effect of weight change on the association between overall and source of carbohydrate intake and risk of metabolic syndrome: Tehran lipid and glucose study.Nutrition & metabolism · 2023Article
- Association between pre-pregnancy weight status and dietary patterns during pregnancy: results from the Japan Environment and Children's Study.Public health nutrition · 2023Article
- Association of dietary patterns with general and central obesity among Chinese adults: a longitudinal population-based study.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Different carbohydrate exposures and weight gain-results from a pooled analysis of three population-based studies.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2023Article
- Obesity-related parameters in carriers of some BDNF genetic variants may depend on daily dietary macronutrients intake.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- The Impact of Free Sugar on Human Health-A Narrative Review.Nutrients · 2023Review
- Enhancing nutritional value and health benefits of gluten-free confectionery products: innovative pastilles and marshmallows.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe present study aimed to test the association between high and low carbohydrate diets and obesity, and second, to test the link between total carbohydrate intake (as a percentage of total energy intake) and obesity. SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND OUTCOME MEASURES: We sought MEDLINE, PubMed and Google Scholar for observation studies published between January 1990 and December 2016 assessing an association between obesity and high-carbohydrate intake. Two independent reviewers selected candidate studies, extracted data and assessed study quality.
resultsThe study identified 22 articles that fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria and quantified an association between carbohydrate intake and obesity. The first pooled strata (high-carbohydrate versus low-carbohydrate intake) suggested a weak increased risk of obesity. The second pooled strata (increasing percentage of total carbohydrate intake in daily diet) showed a weak decreased risk of obesity. Both these pooled strata estimates were, however, not statistically significant.
conclusionsOn the basis of the current study, it cannot be concluded that a high-carbohydrate diet or increased percentage of total energy intake in the form of carbohydrates increases the odds of obesity. A central limitation of the study was the non-standard classification of dietary intake across the studies, as well as confounders like total energy intake, activity levels, age and gender. Further studies are needed that specifically classify refined versus unrefined carbohydrate intake, as well as studies that investigate the relationship between high fat, high unrefined carbohydrate-sugar diets. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42015023257.
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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.