Short- and long-term effects of very low- and low-calorie ketogenic diets on metabolism and cardiometabolic risk factors: a narrative review

Abstract

Worldwide obesity and cardiovascular diseases have encouraged the adoption of new and efficient dietary strategies. Among various proposed diets, ketogenic diets, both the very-low-calorie ketogenic diet (VLCKD) and the low-calorie ketogenic diet (LCKD), have been suggested in recent years as an effective nutritional approach for obesity management. The VLCKD and the LCKD are characterized by a low carbohydrate content (<50 g/day), 1-1.5 g of protein/kg of ideal body weight, less than 20-30 g of lipids, and a daily intake of about 800 calories for VLCKD and about 1200-1400 calories for LCKD. The purpose of our narrative review is to offer an overview of the most impactful studies in the scientific literature regarding VLCKD and LCKD to discuss their short- and long-term effects (less than 12 months and more than 12 months respectively) on weight loss, metabolic and cardiovascular aspects. Articles we focused on were cohort studies, case-control studies, cross-sectional studies, randomized controlled trials, and meta-analyses. Results indicate that VLCKD and LCKD could be helpful to ameliorate metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors such as weight loss, glucose, and cholesterol levels, both in the short and long term. Further research in this area may include more randomized controlled trials to gather more data.