Low-carbohydrate and balanced-carbohydrate weight-reducing diets produce little to no difference in average weight loss over three to six months in overweight and obese adults with type 2 diabetes, with a mean difference of 1.26 kg (95% CI: -2.44 to -0.09) based on 14 randomized trials involving 1,114 participants.

When people eat fewer carbohydrates, their bodies make less insulin, which causes fat cells to release stored fat and the liver to convert that fat into ketones. These ketones reduce hunger, so people eat less without trying. At the same time, the body starts burning fat for energy instead of sugar. Whether the diet is low-carb or balanced-carb, if the total calories consumed drop enough to create a deficit, the body loses weight by burning stored fat. This happens the same way in both diets, so neither leads to more weight loss than the other in the short term.