Effects of dietary and exercise intervention on weight loss and body composition in obese postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and prospective studies
PubMed 29533366 · doi:10.1097/GME.0000000000001085
What was done
Searched Medline, Central, Embase, and Google Scholar through December 2016 for randomized controlled trials and prospective studies evaluating dietary, exercise, or combined interventions on weight loss in overweight or obese peri- and postmenopausal women. The primary outcome was percentage reduction in body weight alongside changes in body composition. Eleven studies with 12 participant cohorts were included.
What was found
Dietary and exercise interventions produced significantly greater weight reduction than control groups: - Diet vs control: difference in means = -6.55% (95% CI, -9.51 to -3.59, P < 0.001). - Exercise vs control: difference in means = -3.49% (95% CI, -6.96 to -0.02, P = 0.049). - Diet plus exercise vs diet alone: greater weight loss (difference in means = -1.22%, 95% CI, -2.14 to -0.29, P = 0.010), greater fat loss (difference in means = -0.44, 95% CI, -0.67 to -0.20, P < 0.001), and greater lean mass loss (difference in means = -0.84, 95% CI, -1.13 to -0.55, P < 0.001).
Why it matters
Demonstrates that dietary changes produce greater weight loss than exercise alone in postmenopausal women, with combined interventions yielding incremental fat loss at the cost of additional lean mass reduction.
Limits
The abstract does not report the total participant count (n). Inclusion criteria permitted non-randomized prospective studies alongside RCTs. Specific dietary protocols, exercise modalities (aerobic vs. resistance), intervention durations, and body composition measurement units were not described in the abstract.