Canola oil, body weight and fat in adults with type 2 diabetes
What it found
In adults with type 2 diabetes, canola oil led to small rises in body weight and belly fat.
All three tested oils reduced waist size.
What they found
Studies in people
Body weight changes
After adjusting for other factors, body weight rose slightly during the canola oil period by 0.33 kg. It also rose by 0.34 kg during the sesame oil period.
Belly fat changes
Visceral fat, the fat around organs, rose by 0.13% during the canola oil period. It rose by the same amount during the sesame oil period.
Waist size
All three oils led to smaller waists and lower scores on a measure of central obesity.
Differences in women
In women, the sesame-canola blend reduced visceral fat by 0.14%. Sesame oil alone raised it by 0.12%.
What the authors conclude
- They suggest that sesame and canola oils might cause a small, favourable shift in where body fat sits, especially in women.
- The authors note that these shifts were too small to matter much in everyday health.
How it was done
Recent research suggested that sesame and canola oils might change how body fat is distributed. The authors wanted to test this idea in people with type 2 diabetes.
Ninety-three adults with type 2 diabetes swapped their usual cooking oil for canola oil, sesame oil or a blend of both. Each oil was used for 9 weeks, with 4-week breaks between them. Researchers measured body weight and fat at the start, middle and end of each phase.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This trial lasted 9 weeks per oil, so it cannot show what happens over years of use.
- It only included adults with type 2 diabetes, so the results may not apply to everyone else.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Iran
The paper
- Title
- Effects of sesame, canola and sesame-canola oils on body weight and composition in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a randomized, triple-blind, cross-over clinical trial
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Raeisi-Dehkordi H, Amiri M, Moghtaderi F, et al (2021). Effects of sesame, canola and sesame-canola oils on body weight and composition in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a randomized, triple-blind, cross-over clinical trial. Journal of the science of food and agriculture. doi:10.1002/jsfa.11265PubMed 33899246DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error