Mediterranean Diet versus Very Low-Calorie Ketogenic Diet: Effects of Reaching 5% Body Weight Loss on Body Composition in Subjects with Overweight and with Obesity—A Cohort Study

Claudia Di Rosa, Greta Lattanzi, Chiara Spiezia, Elena Imperia, Sara Piccirilli, Ivan Beato, Gianluigi Gaspa, Vanessa Micheli, Federica De Joannon, Noemi Vallecorsa, Massimo Ciccozzi, Giuseppe Defeudis, Silvia Manfrini and Yeganeh Manon Khazrai ()
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Claudia Di Rosa: Unit of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy
Greta Lattanzi: Unit of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy
Chiara Spiezia: Unit of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy
Elena Imperia: Unit of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy
Sara Piccirilli: Unit of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy
Ivan Beato: Unit of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy
Gianluigi Gaspa: Unit of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy
Vanessa Micheli: Unit of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy
Federica De Joannon: Unit of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy
Noemi Vallecorsa: Unit of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy
Massimo Ciccozzi: Unit of Medical Statistic and Molecular Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy
Giuseppe Defeudis: Unit of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Department of Medicine, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy
Silvia Manfrini: Unit of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Department of Medicine, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy
Yeganeh Manon Khazrai: Unit of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 20, 1-18

Abstract: The best nutritional strategy to fight the rise in obesity remains a debated issue. The Mediterranean diet (MD) and the Very Low-Calorie Ketogenic diet (VLCKD) are effective at helping people lose body weight (BW) and fat mass (FM) while preserving fat-free mass (FFM). This study aimed to evaluate the time these two diets took to reach a loss of 5% of the initial BW and how body composition was affected. We randomized 268 subjects with obesity or overweight in two arms, MD and VLCKD, for a maximum of 3 months or until they reached 5% BW loss. This result was achieved after one month of VLCKD and 3 months of MD. Both diets were effective in terms of BW ( p < 0.0001) and FM loss ( p < 0.0001), but the MD reached a higher reduction in both waist circumference ( p = 0.0010) and FM ( p = 0.0006) and a greater increase in total body water ( p = 0.0017) and FFM ( p = 0.0373) than VLCKD. The population was also stratified according to gender, age, and BMI. These two nutritional protocols are both effective in improving anthropometrical parameters and body composition, but they take different time spans to reach the goal. Therefore, professionals should evaluate which is the most suitable according to each patient’s health status.

Keywords: ketogenic diet; Mediterranean diet; 5% weight loss (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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