Cochrane · systematic review · CD013334
Low‐carbohydrate versus balanced‐carbohydrate diets for reducing weight and cardiovascular risk
Naude, CE, Brand, A, Schoonees, A, et al. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2022 · Cochrane Library
SoF tableOnly the outcomes this review put in its Summary of Findings table are listed (the Cochrane Handbook caps them at about seven per comparison). Its other analyses are not shown here.
Questions
30
current version
GRADE rated
21
No studies
9
Included studies
NR
No studies 9 · 30%Ungraded 0 · 0%Very low 7 · 23.3%Low 5 · 16.7%Moderate 9 · 30%High 0 · 0%
Ungraded means an effect was reported without a GRADE rating; it is not a gap. No studies means the review found nothing to answer the question. The six categories are a display order, not a score.
Questions and results
Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets compared to balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets in overweight and obese participants without T2DM (weight‐reducing phase only)
Population: overweight and obese participants without T2DM (weight‐reducing phase only)
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Change in body weight (kg) at 3 to < 12 months Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | 37 studies · 3286 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias |
Change in body weight (kg) at ≥ 12 months Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | 14 studies · 1805 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias |
Number of participants per group with weight loss of at least 5% at ≥ 12 months Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | RR 1.11 [0.94, 1.31] | 2 studies · 137 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Cardiovascular mortality ‐ not measured Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Change in DBP (mmHg) at ≥ 12 months Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | 11 studies · 1419 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias |
Change in LDL cholesterol (mmol/L) at ≥ 12 months Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | 13 studies · 1494 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias |
Constipation at 3 to < 12 months Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | RR 1.06 [0.81, 1.38] | 4 studies · 564 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets compared to balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets in overweight and obese participants without T2DM (weight‐reducing phase followed by weight‐maintenance phase)
Population: overweight and obese participants without T2DM (weight‐reducing phase followed by weight maintenance phase)
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Change in body weight (kg) at 3 to < 12 months ‐ not measured Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Change in body weight (kg) at ≥ 12 months Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | 3 studies · 73 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Weight loss of at least 5% at ≥ 12 months ‐ not measured Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Cardiovascular mortality ‐ not measured Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Change in DBP (mmHg) at ≥ 12 months Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 13 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Change in LDL cholesterol (mmol/L) at ≥ 12 months Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | 2 studies · 56 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Constipation at 3 to < 12 months ‐ not measured Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets compared to balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets in overweight and obese participants with T2DM (weight‐reducing phase only)
Population: overweight and obese participants with T2DM (weight‐reducing phase only)
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Change in body weight (kg) at 3 to < 12 months Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | 14 studies · 1114 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias |
Change in body weight (kg) at ≥ 12 months Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | 7 studies · 813 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias |
Weight loss of at least 5% at ≥ 12 months Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | RR 0.9 [0.68, 1.2] | 2 studies · 106 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Cardiovascular mortality ‐ not measured Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Change in DBP (mmHg) at ≥ 12 months Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | 6 studies · 631 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias |
Change in HbA1c (%) at ≥ 12 months Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | 6 studies · 668 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias |
Change in LDL cholesterol (mmol/L) at ≥ 12 months Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | 7 studies · 753 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias |
Constipation at 3 to < 12 months Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | RR 1.37 [0.86, 2.18] | 2 studies · 177 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets compared to balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets in overweight and obese participants with T2DM (weight‐reducing phase followed by weight‐maintenance phase)
Population: overweight and obese participants with T2DM (weight‐reducing phase followed by weight‐maintenance phase)
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Change in body weight (kg) at 3 to < 12 months Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 61 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Change in body weight (kg) at ≥ 12 months Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | 3 studies · 158 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Weight loss of at least 5% at ≥ 12 months ‐ not measured Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Cardiovascular mortality ‐ not measured Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Change in DBP (mmHg) at ≥ 12 months Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 99 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Change in HbA1c (%) at ≥ 12 months Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | 3 studies · 160 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Change in LDL cholesterol (mmol/L) at ≥ 12 months Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | 2 studies · 145 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Constipation at 3 to < 12 months ‐ not measured Summary of findings table ‐ Low‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets vs balanced‐carbohydrate weight‐reducing diets | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |