The effects of the ketogenic diet on muscle mass strength and endurance 🥑

Is keto suitable for athletes?

Effects of ketogenic diet on muscle mass, strength, aerobic metabolic capacity, and endurance in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Study Details

This new meta-analysis compiled data from 33 studies (over 1,200 participants) to assess the effects of a ketogenic diet on various aspects of athletic performance 📚

Here are the key findings ⬇️

Key Findings

For muscular outcomes, the ketogenic diet led to no significant differences in…

❌ Muscle mass

❌ Muscle power

❌ Squat strength

❌ Bench strength

However, there were significant differences in…

🚨 Fat free mass (-0.48 kg)

📉 Fat mass (-1.31 kg)

For metabolic outcomes, the ketogenic diet significantly…

🔥 Improved fat oxidation (+0.13)

🫁 Reduced respiratory exchange ratio (-0.07)

For endurance outcomes, the ketogenic diet had no significant effect on…

❌ VO2max

❌ VO2max relative to body weight

❌ Time to exhaustion

❌ Rating of perceived exertion

Conclusion

The ketogenic diet can increase fat oxidation to modify muscle metabolism ✅

However, this does not appear to result in improved strength or endurance performance ❌

It may also enhance weight and fat mass loss, but effects on muscle / FFM loss may require further investigation 🔍

Reference

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41035089/

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