The Study: Efficacy of ketogenic diet on body composition during resistance training in trained men: a randomized controlled trial          

 The Facts:

a. Ketogenic diets have become popular for weight loss.

b. Some athletes are now using ketogenic diets (KD) to try to optimize their body composition during their resistance training periods.

c. The authors looked at the effects of a ketogenic diet coupled with resistance training on body composition during an eight week long study

d. The study had 24 subjects with an average age 30 plus or minus 4.7 years.

e. To check body composition they used a DXA (also called DEXA) scan.

f. To monitor ketone levels they measured ketones in the urine.

g. They divided the subjects into 9 KD (Ketone Diet), 10 NKD (None Ketone Diet) and 5 controls.

h. Each muscle group was exercised twice weekly.

i. All groups were in a calorie surplus and had adequate protein intake.

i. Fat reduction was significant in Ketone Diet group. The KD group was the only group to show a significant reduction.

j. In the KD group there was also a reduction of visceral adipose tissue/fat (VAT) which decreased markedly. This was a “considered large effect size” and “No significant changes were observed in the NKD and CG groups. The visceral fat only decreased minimally in the NKD group.

k. On the other hand,  both body weight and lean body mass (LBM) showed significant increase with a moderate effect size in the NKD group while the KD group showed no gain..

l. “It is probable that the incorporation of RT (resistance training)*, together with moderate/high protein consumption and a caloric surplus, may be an important strategy for maintaining fat free mass during KD.”     *Italics ours.

m. “According to our results, we concluded that subjects who underwent RT during a KD experienced a greater reduction in FM and VAT, when compared to the NKD group. The greater reduction in VAT may have some clinical relevance due to its inverse association to cardio-metabolic risk.”

 Take Home:

The ketogenic diet (remember all groups were in a calorie surplus and had adequate protein)  and resistance training showed the best reduction of fat mass and visceral fat. But only the group who ate carbohydrates and resistance trained had an increase in lean body mass.

Reviewer:  Roger Coleman DC

Editor: Mark R. Payne DC 

Reference: Salvador Vargas, Ramon Romance, Jorge L. Petro et.al. Efficacy of ketogenic diet on body composition during resistance training in trained men: a randomized controlled trial. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2018 Jul 9;15(1):31.  

Link to Abstract: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29986720/

Link to Article:         https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6038311/pdf/12970_2018_Article_236.pdf