Investigating the Effect of Eight Weeks of Ketogenic Diet Combined with Resistance Training on Muscle Strength and Body Composition of Obese Women

The effect of ketogenic diets (KD) on body composition in different populations has been investigated. More recently, some studies have recommended that athletes adhere to ketogenic diets to optimize changes in body composition during training. However, there is less evidence related to trained women. The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of eight weeks of ketogenic diet along with resistance training on muscle strength and body composition of obese women.

 In this semi-experimental study, which was conducted with a pre-test and post-test design, 30 obese women of Khorram Abad city, with an age range of 20 to 35 years, were selected through convenience sampling.  They were divided into 2 groups of 15 people consuming ketogenic diet and non-ketogenic diet  under the conditions of 4 training sessions per week (divided into 2 periods 4 weeks) for eight weeks of resistance training, they were divided into 2 groups of 15 people consuming ketogenic diet and non-ketogenic diet.

 The results showed that the ketogenic diet compared to the non-ketogenic diet had a significant effect in reducing body fat percentage (p<0.01).Other results showed that the non-ketogenic diet improved muscle strength compared to the ketogenic diet. However, the ketogenic diet and non-ketogenic diet had no significant effect on lean mass (p>0.05).

 These findings show that increasing strength can be achieved in a ketogenic diet, but these gains may be less compared to the ketogenic diet in women.