The Study
Low Carb Diet Outrank Low Fat Diet in Weight Loss
This study says people on a low-carb diet lost a little more fat than people on a low-fat diet, but we can’t be sure the diet caused it — maybe they ate less, or exercised more, or just got lucky. It’s like saying your friend’s new shoes made them run faster, but we didn’t watch them run.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
People who ate fewer carbs and more fats lost more body fat and had better heart health markers than those who ate fewer fats and more carbs—even though both groups ate the same number of calories.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 555 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes—losing fat instead of muscle and improving cholesterol matters for long-term health and looking leaner.
- 2Low-carb group lost 8 pounds more, had better LDL cholesterol, improved cholesterol ratios, and slightly lower blood pressure; lost more fat and less muscle than low-fat group.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
International Journal of Pharmacognosy & Chinese Medicine
Year
2019
Authors
Shabnam Ansari
Related Content
Claims (4)
If you're overweight and eat fewer carbs instead of less fat for four weeks—without counting calories—you might lose about 8 pounds more than someone on a low-fat diet, and it might be because you're losing more body fat.
If you're overweight and eat fewer carbs instead of less fat for four weeks, you might lose more body fat—even if you lose the same amount of total weight as someone on a low-fat diet.
If you're overweight and have high 'bad' cholesterol, eating fewer carbs for four weeks might help lower your bad cholesterol and improve your overall cholesterol balance better than eating low-fat, high-carb foods.
If you're overweight and eat less fat for four weeks, you might lose more muscle than fat compared to someone who eats fewer carbs — even if both diets help you lose weight.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.