SynthesisThe Journal of nutrition2021
Do Lower-Carbohydrate Diets Increase Total Energy Expenditure? An Updated and Reanalyzed Meta-Analysis of 29 Controlled-Feeding Studies.
Synthesis in The Journal of nutrition, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Efficacy of a low-carbohydrate diet combined with exercise on glycemic control and metabolic health in type 2 diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Pooled it
- Do Lower-Carbohydrate Diets Increase Total Energy Expenditure? An Updated and Reanalyzed Meta-Analysis of 29 Controlled-Feeding Studies.The Journal of nutrition · 2021Pooled it
- Weight-independent effects of dietary carbohydrate-to-fat ratio on metabolomic profiles: secondary outcomes of a 5-month randomized controlled feeding trial.Nature communications · 2026Trial
- Adaptive Thermogenesis After Hypocaloric Low-Carbohydrate Versus Low-Fat Diets in African American Women: A Secondary Analysis.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2025Trial
- The impact of a low-carbohydrate (vs. low-fat) diet on fat mass loss in African American women is modulated by insulin sensitivity.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2025Trial
- A lipidomic and metabolomic signature of a very low-carbohydrate high-fat diet and high-intensity interval training: an additional analysis of a randomized controlled clinical trial.Metabolomics : Official journal of the Metabolomic Society · 2023Trial
- Restricting sugar or carbohydrate intake does not impact physical activity level or energy intake over 24 h despite changes in substrate use: a randomised crossover study in healthy men and women.European journal of nutrition · 2023Trial
- Prolonged Glycemic Adaptation Following Transition From a Low- to High-Carbohydrate Diet: A Randomized Controlled Feeding Trial.Diabetes care · 2022Trial
- Keyto app and device versus WW app on weight loss and metabolic risk in adults with overweight or obesity: A randomized trial.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2021Trial
- Effects of 30 days of ketogenic diet on body composition, muscle strength, muscle area, metabolism, and performance in semi-professional soccer players.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2021Trial
- Diets Varying in Carbohydrate Content Differentially Alter Brain Activity in Homeostatic and Reward Regions in Adults.The Journal of nutrition · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Review
- Adaptive Ketogenic-Mediterranean Protocol (AKMP) in Real Clinical Practice: 14-Week Pre-Post Cohort Study on Glucolipid Markers and Safety.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Energy Underreporting in Low-Calorie and Carbohydrate-Restrictive Diets: Epidemiological Considerations.Current developments in nutrition · 2025Article
- Beyond GLP-1 Agonists: An Adaptive Ketogenic-Mediterranean Protocol to Counter Metabolic Adaptation in Obesity Management.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Feeding of a high protein, low carbohydrate diet leads to greater postprandial energy expenditure and fasted n6: n3 fatty acid ratio in lean, adult dogs compared to a moderate protein, moderate carbohydrate diet.Translational animal science · 2025Article
- A Mobile-Based Nutrition Tracker App Enhanced Dietitian-Guided 2:1:1 Diet-Induced Weight Loss: An 8-Week Retrospective Cohort Study in Taiwan.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Low-carbohydrate diet for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Article
- Physiologic Adaptation to Macronutrient Change Distorts Findings from Short Dietary Trials: Reanalysis of a Metabolic Ward Study.The Journal of nutrition · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe effect of macronutrient composition on total energy expenditure (TEE) remains controversial, with divergent findings among studies. One source of heterogeneity may be study duration, as physiological adaptation to lower carbohydrate intake may require 2 to 3 wk.
objectiveWe tested the hypothesis that the effects of carbohydrate [expressed as % of energy intake (EI)] on TEE vary with time.
methodsThe sample included trials from a previous meta-analysis and new trials identified in a PubMed search through 9 March 2020 comparing lower- and higher-carbohydrate diets, controlled for EI or body weight. Three reviewers independently extracted data and reconciled discrepancies. Effects on TEE were pooled using inverse-variance-weighted meta-analysis, with between-study heterogeneity assessed using the I2 statistic. Meta-regression was used to quantify the influence of study duration, dichotomized at 2.5 wk.
resultsThe 29 trials ranged in duration from 1 to 140 d (median: 4 d) and included 617 participants. Difference in carbohydrate between intervention arms ranged from 8% to 77% EI (median: 30%). Compared with reported findings in the prior analysis (I2 = 32.2%), we found greater heterogeneity (I2 = 90.9% in the reanalysis, 81.6% in the updated analysis). Study duration modified the diet effect on TEE (P < 0.001). Among 23 shorter trials, TEE was reduced on lower-carbohydrate diets (-50.0 kcal/d; 95% CI: -77.4, -22.6 kcal/d) with substantial heterogeneity (I2 = 69.8). Among 6 longer trials, TEE was increased on low-carbohydrate diets (135.4 kcal/d; 95% CI: 72.0, 198.7 kcal/d) with low heterogeneity (I2 = 26.4). Expressed per 10% decrease in carbohydrate as %EI, the TEE effects in shorter and longer trials were -14.5 kcal/d and 50.4 kcal/d, respectively. Findings were materially unchanged in sensitivity analyses.
conclusionsLower-carbohydrate diets transiently reduce TEE, with a larger increase after ∼2.5 wk. These findings highlight the importance of longer trials to understand chronic macronutrient effects and suggest a mechanism whereby lower-carbohydrate diets may facilitate weight loss.
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