Plant based diets and obesity
Jarvis, S. E., Nguyen, M., & Malik, V. S. (2022). Association between adherence to plant-based dietary patterns and obesity risk: a systematic review of prospective cohort studies. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 47(12), 1115-1133.
A review of 9 studies finds that a "healthful" PB diet protects against weight gain and adiposity but an unhealthful PB diet often does not
Abstract
The worldwide prevalence of obesity and its comorbidities is staggering, and elevated body mass index represents a leading risk factor of death globally. Consistent evidence demonstrates a high-quality plant-based diet as an effective intervention for weight management, although it may be particularly challenging to adopt in its entirety for habitual meat consumers or individuals with especially poor-quality diets. Plant-based diets are increasingly studied using indices such as the overall plant-based diet index (PDI), healthful PDI, and unhealthful PDI, which offer more flexibility than a binary classification of vegetarianism and better facilitate translation into dietary recommendations. We summarized these recently accumulated studies to comprehensively evaluate plant-based diets in relation to obesity risk. We searched Medline, Embase, and CINAHL databases through January 2022 and identified 9 prospective adult cohorts. Reporting of results was consistent with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses guidelines and certainty of the evidence was assessed using domains from GRADE. The PDI had a protective association with body weight gain and adiposity. Emphasis of healthful plant foods strengthened this association and emphasis of unhealthful plant foods demonstrated either a positive or null association. The certainty of the evidence was considered moderate. These findings have wide application to inform dietary interventions and sustainable policy recommendations. (Prospero ID: CRD42020198143)