Dietary Interventions and Testosterone Levels in Obese Men: A Systematic Review Comparing the Mediterranean Diet, Ketogenic Diet, and Intermittent Fasting
Systematic review compares testosterone effects of Mediterranean diet, ketogenic diet, and intermittent fasting in obese men, suggesting VLCKD is most effective.
Key Points
This review assesses how different dietary interventions affect testosterone levels in obese men with male obesity secondary hypogonadism.
Conducted a systematic review following PRISMA 2020 guidelines.
Performed comprehensive searches across SciSpace, Google Scholar, and PubMed until June 2026.
Included studies focused on adult males (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²) following Mediterranean diet, ketogenic diet, or intermittent fasting with testosterone assessment.
VLCKD showed significant increases in total testosterone levels (+1.5 to +3.0 nmol/L) with strong evidence.
Intermittent fasting indicated potential benefits but with more variability in outcomes.
Limited evidence for the Mediterranean diet regarding its effects on testosterone, primarily assessing metabolic outcomes.