A Systematic Review on the Effectiveness of Diet and Exercise in the Management of Obesity

Background And Aims: Obesity is a worldwide epidemic and has quickly become a clinical and public health challenge. The primary concern is the effect of obesity on quality of life. This review assesses the effectiveness of interventions such as exercise and diet in the management of obesity.

Methods: Studies selected reported on the obese adult population (18 years and older), who had a lifestyle modification using diet, exercise, or both. We screened a total of 324 articles, 25 were found to be duplicated, 261 were excluded after screening for eligibility, and 27 full-text articles due to study design, incomplete data. 11 full-text articles were reviewed and included in our study.

Results: Participants placed on a dairy-based diet achieved a more significant reduction in body weight (-1.16 kg [-1.66, -0.66 kg], p < 0.001) and body fat mass (-1.49 kg [-2.06, -0.92 kg], p < 0.001). The ADF participants achieved body weight change of mean -0.9% ± 0.6% in the low-weight-loss group, and -9.9% ± 1.1% in the high-weight-loss group, whereas the caloric restricted (CR) participants achieved -1.3% ± 0.7% in the low-weight-loss, and -9.2% ± 1.2% in the high-weight-loss groups. A combination of intensive physical activity of about 175 min per week and a portion-controlled diet led to a more significant weight loss of 5%.

Conclusion: This systematic review identified that the most efficient regimen for obesity management in adults is the combination of strength plus endurance exercise for a minimum of 175 min per week and a customized hypocaloric diet based on patient-specific metabolic needs and overall health status.