Skip to main content
. 2022 Oct 10;14(19):4213. doi: 10.3390/nu14194213

Table 1.

Strong and weak indications and contraindications to VLCKD of SIE.

VERY LOW-CALORIE KETOGENIC DIETS (VLCKDS)
STRONG RECOMMENDATIONS CONTRAINDICATIONS
Severe obesity Pregnancy and breastfeeding kidney failure
Severe obesity before bariatric surgery Moderate-to-severe chronic kidney disease
Sarcopenic obesity Liver failure
Obesity associated with:
  • T2DM (preserved beta cell function)

  • Hypertriglyceridemia

  • Hypertension

Rare disorders: porphyria, carnitine deficiency, carnitine palmitoyltransferase deficiency, carnitine-acylcarnitine translocase deficiency, mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation disorders, and pyruvate carboxylase deficiency
Pediatric obesity associated with epilepsy and/or with a high level of insulin resistance and/or comorbidities, not responsive to standardized diet Respiratory failure unstable angina, hearth failure (NYHA III–IV), recent stroke or myocardial infarction (<12 months), and cardiac arrhythmias
WEAK RECOMMENDATIONS
  • Obesity associated with dysbiosis;

  • Obesity associated with dyslipidemia;

  • Obesity associated with NAFLD;

  • Obesity associated with heart failure

(NYHA I–II);
  • Obesity associated with atherosclerosis;

  • Male obesity secondary hypogonadism;

  • Obesity associated with PCOS;

  • Menopausal transition-related obesity;

  • Neurodegenerative disorders.

Eating disorders and other severe mental illnesses, alcohol, and substance abuse
Type 1 diabetes mellitus, latent autoimmune diabetes in adults, β-cell failure in T2DM, use of SGLT2 inhibitors
Active/severe infections and frail elderly patients,
48 h prior to elective surgery or invasive procedures and perioperative period

SIE, Italian Society of Endocrinology; T2DM, type 2 diabetes mellitus; NAFLD, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; NYHA, New York Heart Association; PCOS, polycystic ovary syndrome; SGLT, sodium-dependent glucose cotransporters.