# In a Townsville trial, 52 adults with severe mental illness completed 12 weeks of a ketogenic diet

- Published: 2026-11-14 00:09 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Medicine
- Tags: ketogenic metabolic therapy, schizophrenia diet, bipolar disorder diet, schizoaffective disorder, nutritional ketosis, randomized controlled trial, feasibility trial, Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, Townsville
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-4c12fee4fc5f3922dd536b7e_in_a_townsville/

**In a randomized trial, a ketogenic diet with weekly dietitian support proved feasible for adults with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, the authors report. Meals were self-prepared.**

![In a Townsville trial, 52 adults with severe mental illness completed 12 weeks of a ketogenic diet](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/45e98887772dcca4.jpg)
*U.S. Air Force photo by Andrea Jenkins, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain*

Researchers in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, have reported the feasibility results of the North Queensland Dietary Intervention Trial. It is a randomized, parallel-group trial that compared ketogenic metabolic therapy (KMT) with the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (AGTHE) in adults with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or bipolar disorder. According to the paper in Frontiers in Nutrition, participants were recruited between January 2024 and October 2025. Of 96 people assessed for eligibility, 71 were enrolled and 52 completed the 12-week intervention, 26 in each arm [1].

The authors note that no randomized controlled trial data had previously established whether KMT could be implemented in this population. The paper reports feasibility outcomes only [1].

## Diet and dietitian support

Participants in both arms received individualized dietary advice and practical help with shopping for, preparing and cooking meals. Support came through weekly dietitian contact throughout the trial [1]. Meals were prepared by the participants themselves, without delivered, standardized food [1].

The feasibility outcomes were recruitment and retention, dietitian attendance, dietary adherence, daily ketone levels, and change in body mass index (BMI) as an indicator of compliance [1]. The mean age of the cohort was 46.14 ± 12.10 years, and 62% of participants were female [1].

## Attendance, ketosis and BMI

Dietitian attendance was high in both arms: 85% in the AGTHE group and 92% in the KMT group [1]. In the AGTHE arm, 61.5% of participants achieved moderate to high dietary adherence [1].

Participants in the KMT group spent 70.06% of the intervention period in nutritional ketosis. All 26 completers reached blood ketone levels of at least 0.5 mmol/L [1]. Overall, 96.2% of KMT completers achieved at least semi-adherence, and 73.1% achieved full adherence [1].

Both arms showed BMI reductions: −2.70 ± 4.06% in the AGTHE group and −6.50 ± 4.73% in the KMT group. The authors say this supports compliance with the allocated diets [1].

The authors conclude that KMT is a feasible and safe dietary intervention for people with serious mental illness when delivered with appropriate clinical and dietetic support. They highlight that high adherence was reached in a real-world model of self-prepared meals [1].

## Sources

1. [Frontiers in Nutrition](https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2026.1962072)
2. [bioengineer.org](https://bioengineer.org/clinical-trial-demonstrates-feasibility-of-ketogenic-metabolic-therapy-for-severe-psychiatric-disorders)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-4c12fee4fc5f3922dd536b7e_in_a_townsville/