ArticleThe American journal of clinical nutrition2021
The carbohydrate-insulin model: a physiological perspective on the obesity pandemic.
Article in The American journal of clinical nutrition, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05121844 (Use of Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Non-Diabetic Population to Compliment Signos Mobile Health Platform), which is not on this map. Cited by 134 papers, 4 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.
Use of Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Non-Diabetic Population to Compliment Signos Mobile Health Platform: Comprehensive Weight Optimization Program and Customized Lifestyle Modifications
Who cites it
134 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 275 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of carbohydrate-modified diets on insulin sensitivity in children and adolescents with overweight/obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.BMC endocrine disorders · 2026Pooled it
- Health effects of the time-restricted eating in adults with obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Pooled it
- Long Term Weight Loss Diets and Obesity Indices: Results of a Network Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Dietary Transitions and Health Outcomes in Four Populations - Systematic Review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Effect of low-carbohydrate vs low-fat diet intervention on visceral fat estimated from dual energy X-ray absorptiometry in a 12-month randomized controlled trial.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2026Trial
- 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
- Diet order significantly affects energy balance for diets varying in macronutrients but not ultraprocessing in crossover studies without a washout period.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2024Trial
- Yearly attained adherence to Mediterranean diet and incidence of diabetes in a large randomized trial.Cardiovascular diabetology · 2023Trial
- Impact of a Low-Insulin-Stimulating Bread on Weight Development-A Real Life Randomised Controlled Trial.Nutrients · 2023Trial
- Intermittent fasting two days versus one day per week, matched for total energy intake and expenditure, increases weight loss in overweight/obese men and women.Nutrition journal · 2022Trial
- Prolonged Glycemic Adaptation Following Transition From a Low- to High-Carbohydrate Diet: A Randomized Controlled Feeding Trial.Diabetes care · 2022Trial
- Nutrient and non-nutrient regulators of insulin secretion.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2026Review
- Dietary protein density, cholesterol, egg consumption and mortality in US adults with type 2 diabetes: A prospective cohort study.Medicine · 2026Article
- Does the Carbohydrate-Insulin Model Explain Obesity? Evidence from Mechanistic and Clinical Studies: A Critical Review.Current obesity reports · 2026Review
- Dietary Patterns, Eating Disorder Risk, Emotional Distress, and Amino Acid Intake in Adults Seeking Weight Loss.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Effect of theFoods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Kiss1-FASN participates fatty acid synthesis via high-fat diet in PgVAT of female mice.Journal of lipid research · 2026Article
- Energy availability as an integrative framework: reinterpreting the energy balance and carbohydrate-insulin models in athletes.Physical activity and nutrition · 2026Article
- [Research progress in mechanisms of dietary resistant starch for regulating glucose and lipid metabolism].Nan fang yi ke da xue xue bao = Journal of Southern Medical University · 2026Review
- Are ultra-processed foods too tasty? Toward a metabolic framework for diet and obesity.PLoS medicine · 2026Article
74 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
17 authors at 13 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
According to a commonly held view, the obesity pandemic is caused by overconsumption of modern, highly palatable, energy-dense processed foods, exacerbated by a sedentary lifestyle. However, obesity rates remain at historic highs, despite a persistent focus on eating less and moving more, as guided by the energy balance model (EBM). This public health failure may arise from a fundamental limitation of the EBM itself. Conceptualizing obesity as a disorder of energy balance restates a principle of physics without considering the biological mechanisms that promote weight gain. An alternative paradigm, the carbohydrate-insulin model (CIM), proposes a reversal of causal direction. According to the CIM, increasing fat deposition in the body-resulting from the hormonal responses to a high-glycemic-load diet-drives positive energy balance. The CIM provides a conceptual framework with testable hypotheses for how various modifiable factors influence energy balance and fat storage. Rigorous research is needed to compare the validity of these 2 models, which have substantially different implications for obesity management, and to generate new models that best encompass the evidence.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.