Recent advances in the application of a ketogenic diet for obesity management

Abstract Background In recent times, the prevalence of obesity increases, reaching an epidemic scale. Elevated body weight is a risk factor in the development of several diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cancer. Therefore, obesity management solutions, such as diet therapy, are needed. The key issue is to choose the most appropriate diet to obtain an efficient outcome of losing weight, without experiencing adverse effects and a decrease in general health. A ketogenic diet (KD), an auxiliary therapy for epilepsy, is one of the options recently suggested for losing weight. Scope and approach In this review, the current knowledge about the KD and its application in obesity management are discussed. Moreover, the difficulties encountered in clinical studies with KD intervention are addressed. Finally, the future studies needed to understand the physiological effect of the KD on the human body are underlined. Key findings and conclusions The results of recently published clinical trials indicated that KD can be efficient for losing weight and changing body composition without causing severe adverse effects. However, many studies were conducted with a very-low-calorie regime, which itself may affect the loss of body weight, and in many studies to date, the control diets were missing. To summarize, to be able to recommend a KD for weight management, a more in-depth elucidation of the safety and physiological effects of KD in obese individuals is needed.