Moderate calorie restriction causes temporal changes in the liver and skeletal muscle metabolism, whereas moderate weight loss affects muscle, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.
In addition, researchers found that short-term calorie restriction (CR) with a low-carbohydrate diet caused a greater change in liver fat content and metabolic function than short-term CR with a high-carbohydrate diet.
Insulin resistance is the most common metabolic complication associated with obesity and is associated with an increased risk of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and type 2 diabetes. Although an energy-deficit diet is the cornerstone of therapy for obesity, the most appropriate macronutrient composition of diet therapy needed to improve metabolic health remains controversial.
"Our data underscore the complexity of the metabolic effects of calorie restricition with diets that differ in macronutrient composition, and demonstrate differences among organ systems in the response to calorie restriction and subsequent weight loss," said Samuel Klein, MD, of the Washington University School of Medicine and lead author of the study. "Our findings help explain the rapid improvement in glucose levels observed after low-calorie diet therapy and bariatric surgery," he added.