How could diet affect fat loss?

    Researchedby:
    Mike Murray

    Fact-checked

    by:

    Morgan Pfiffner, Rob Stenstrom
    Last Updated: October 25, 2023

    There are no meaningful differences in fat loss between diets that vary in carbohydrate and fat content, as long as their protein and calorie content is equal.[1][2]

    Nonetheless, certain dietary factors can influence fat loss via their effects on energy expenditure, hunger, and satiety, and thus energy intake. These include ultraprocessed foods, which have been shown to increase ad libitum energy intake;[3] protein, which has the highest thermic effect of food among the macronutrients, helps to preserve muscle during weight loss (and thus preserve basal metabolic rate), and may reduce hunger and prolong satiety;[4] and fiber, which may also reduce hunger and prolong satiety.[5]

    References

    1. ^Hall KD, Guo JObesity Energetics: Body Weight Regulation and the Effects of Diet CompositionGastroenterology.(2017 May)
    2. ^Long Ge, Behnam Sadeghirad, Geoff D C Ball, Bruno R da Costa, Christine L Hitchcock, Anton Svendrovski, Ruhi Kiflen, Kalimullah Quadri, Henry Y Kwon, Mohammad Karamouzian, Thomasin Adams-Webber, Waleed Ahmed, Samah Damanhoury, Dena Zeraatkar, Adriani Nikolakopoulou, Ross T Tsuyuki, Jinhui Tian, Kehu Yang, Gordon H Guyatt, Bradley C JohnstonComparison of Dietary Macronutrient Patterns of 14 Popular Named Dietary Programmes for Weight and Cardiovascular Risk Factor Reduction in Adults: Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis of Randomised TrialsBMJ.(2020 Apr 1)
    3. ^Hall KD, Ayuketah A, Brychta R, Cai H, Cassimatis T, Chen KY, Chung ST, Costa E, Courville A, Darcey V, Fletcher LA, Forde CG, Gharib AM, Guo J, Howard R, Joseph PV, McGehee S, Ouwerkerk R, Raisinger K, Rozga I, Stagliano M, Walter M, Walter PJ, Yang S, Zhou MUltra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food IntakeCell Metab.(2019 Jul 2)
    4. ^Leidy HJ, Clifton PM, Astrup A, Wycherley TP, Westerterp-Plantenga MS, Luscombe-Marsh ND, Woods SC, Mattes RDThe role of protein in weight loss and maintenanceAm J Clin Nutr.(2015 Jun)
    5. ^Bozzetto L, Costabile G, Della Pepa G, Ciciola P, Vetrani C, Vitale M, Rivellese AA, Annuzzi GDietary Fibre as a Unifying Remedy for the Whole Spectrum of Obesity-Associated Cardiovascular Risk.Nutrients.(2018-Jul-21)