Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33317019›Full record

SynthesisNutrients2020

The Effect of Low-Fat and Low-Carbohydrate Diets on Weight Loss and Lipid Levels: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Shreya Chawla, Fernanda Tessarolo Silva, Sofia Amaral Medeiros, Rania A Mekary, Dina Radenkovic

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Nutrients, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 95 papers, 15 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
95citing papers in PubMed, 15 pooled it
11.0field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

95 citing papers in PubMed, 15 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 173 citations in OpenAlex.

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35 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Shreya ChawlaFaculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London WC2R 2LS, UK.
Fernanda Tessarolo SilvaFaculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-903, BR, Brazil.
Sofia Amaral MedeirosFaculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-903, BR, Brazil.
Rania A MekarySchool of Pharmacy, MCPHS University, Boston, MA 02120, USA.
Dina RadenkovicHOOKE London, 11-15 Farm Street, London W1J 5RG, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-1355-6967
Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo · BRHarvard University · USKing's College London · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe rise in obesity has emphasised a focus on lifestyle and dietary habits. We aimed to address the debate between low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets and compare their effects on body weight, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), total cholesterol, and triglycerides in an adult population.

methodMedline and Web of Science were searched for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing low-fat and low-carbohydrate diets up to September 2019. Three independent reviewers extracted data. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane tool. The meta-analysis was stratified by follow-up time using the random-effects models.

resultsThis meta-analysis of 38 studies assessed a total of 6499 adults. At 6-12 months, pooled analyses of mean differences of low-carbohydrate vs. low-fat diets favoured the low-carbohydrate diet for average weight change (mean difference -1.30 kg; 95% CI -2.02 to -0.57), HDL (0.05 mmol/L; 95% CI 0.03 to 0.08), and triglycerides (TG) (-0.10 mmol/L; -0.16 to -0.04), and favoured the low-fat diet for LDL (0.07 mmol/L; 95% CI 0.02 to 0.12) and total cholesterol (0.10 mmol/L; 95% CI 0.02 to 0.18). Conclusion and Relevance: This meta-analysis suggests that low-carbohydrate diets are effective at improving weight loss, HDL and TG lipid profiles. However, this must be balanced with potential consequences of raised LDL and total cholesterol in the long-term.

Indexed as

Weight LossAdultCholesterol, HDLCholesterol, LDLDiet, Carbohydrate-RestrictedDiet, Fat-RestrictedHumansLipidsTriglyceridesCholesterol, HDLCholesterol, LDLLipidsTriglyceridescardiologycardiovascular outcomescholesterollipid panellow carbohydrate dietlow fat dietnutritionpreventative medicineweight loss

Identifiers

PMID33317019
PMCPMC7763365
OpenAlexW3112759068

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.