Diet vs Exercise for Belly Fat
Effects of a Very Low-Carbohydrate High-Fat Diet and High-Intensity Interval Training on Visceral Fat Deposition and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Overfat Individuals: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
VLCHF diet reduced visceral fat but also caused muscle loss
Many assume low-carb diets only burn fat, but this shows they also deplete lean body mass—something not commonly discussed in popular diet culture.
Practical Takeaways
If you're trying to lose belly fat, a VLCHF diet can be effective, but consider adding resistance training to preserve muscle mass.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
VLCHF diet reduced visceral fat but also caused muscle loss
Many assume low-carb diets only burn fat, but this shows they also deplete lean body mass—something not commonly discussed in popular diet culture.
Practical Takeaways
If you're trying to lose belly fat, a VLCHF diet can be effective, but consider adding resistance training to preserve muscle mass.
Publication
Journal
Frontiers in Nutrition
Year
2021
Authors
L. Cipryan, Tomas Dostal, M. Litschmannová, P. Hofmann, Philip Maffetone, P. Laursen
Related Content
Claims (10)
Eating very few carbs and more fats for 12 weeks doesn't improve the maximum oxygen your body can use during exercise in people with excess body fat when measured in absolute terms.
Eating very few carbs and more fats for 12 weeks makes the dangerous belly fat around organs shrink by about a quarter in people who have too much body fat.
Doing short bursts of intense exercise a few times a week for 12 weeks makes people with excess body fat able to exercise longer before getting tired, but doesn't significantly improve their maximum oxygen capacity.
When people with excess body fat eat very few carbs and more fats, they lose about 4-5% of their muscle mass within a month, and this muscle loss continues for the full 12 weeks of the diet.
Adding high-intensity interval training to a very low-carb diet doesn't make the belly fat reduction any better than just doing the diet alone in people with excess body fat.