Weight Loss in Obese Adolescents

• In 2010 the Journal of Pediatrics published a study comparing a low-carbohydrate diet to a low-fat diet in 46 severely obese adolescents. The results was a significant reduction in body mass index in both groups after 36 weeks, though there was no significant difference between groups. [Source]

Reduces Cardiovascular Risk

• In 2013 Metabolism published a 12-week study which measured the effects of a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet (HFLC) on weight loss, cardiovascular risk factors and inflammation in obese subjects. Compared to a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet (HCLF) the HFLC diet group had greater increases in HDL (good) cholesterol and greater decreases in triglycerides and systemic inflammation. Both diets lead to similar changes in body weight and composition. [Source]
• In 2014 Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases published an analysis of studies which examined the effects of low-carbohydrate diets vs low-fat diets between 1966 and 2013. The researchers concluded that recent trials show that low-carbohydrate diets decrease body weight and improve cardiovascular risk factors. [Source]
• In 2010 the Annals of Internal Medicine published a study which evaluated the effects of a 2-year period on a low-carbohydrate diet vs a low-fat diet on 307 participants. The results showed that the low-carbohydrate group had greater improvements in cardiovascular risk factors, with no difference in weight loss between the groups. [Source]
• In 2006 Nutrition and Metabolism published a study which tested the effects of a very-low-carbohydrate diet vs two low-saturated-fat, high-carbohydrate diets on 83 subjects. The data showed that the very-low-carbohydrate diet resulted in similar weight loss to the low saturated fat diets but was more effective in improving blood lipids and insulin concentrations. The authors note that very-low-carbohydrate diet may be effective in the short-term management of insulin resistance. [Source]

Low Carbohydrate Diet vs Low Fat diet

• In 2014 Annals of Internal Medicine published a study in which 148 men and women were placed on a low-carbohydrate or a low-fat diet. After 12 months the low-carb group lost an average of 7.7 pounds more weight than the low-fat group and had more significant positive changes in triglycerides, cholesterol and total fat mass. [Source]

Low Carbohydrate Diet vs Low Fat diet for Diabetics

• In 2012 Diabetologia published a study comparing a low-fat diet to a low-carb diet for 2 years in 61 adults with type 2 diabetes. While weight lost was not significant between the two groups, insulin doses were significantly reduced in the low-carb group after 6 months.

Reduces Abdominal Fat

• In 2015 The Journal of Nutrition published two trails involving 69 overweight men and women and 30 women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) which demonstrated that a modest reduction in dietary carbohydrates could reduce abdominal fat and fasting insulin and improve body composition. [Source]

Anti-cancer

• In 2011 Cancer Research published an animal study which showed that both animal and human cancers grew slower in mice placed on a low-carbohydrate, high protein diet. The researchers also found that mice genetically engineered to have a high rate of mammary cancer that were placed on a high-carbohydrate diet had nearly a 50 percent tumor rate by age one, whereas no tumors were detected in the same breed of mice placed on a low-carbohydrate diet. [Source]

Ketogenic vs Low Carb Diets

• In 2006 The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a study involving 20 adults which found that ketogenic and low-carbohydrate diets were equally effective in reducing body weight and insulin resistance, though the ketogenic diet was associated with increased inflammatory risk and adverse emotional effects. The authors, therefore, do not recommend ketogenic diets for weight loss. [Source]