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Fish or n3‐ PUFA intake and body composition: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Author(s) -
Bender N.,
Portmann M.,
Heg Z.,
Hofmann K.,
Zwahlen M.,
Egger M.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
obesity reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.845
H-Index - 162
eISSN - 1467-789X
pISSN - 1467-7881
DOI - 10.1111/obr.12189
Subject(s) - fish oil , obesity , polyunsaturated fatty acid , body mass index , meta analysis , medicine , waist , confidence interval , body weight , lean body mass , physiology , fish <actinopterygii> , biology , biochemistry , fatty acid , fishery
Summary Obesity is a major public health issue and an important contributor to the global burden of chronic disease and disability. Studies indicate that fish and omega‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n3‐ PUFA ) supplements may help prevent cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. However, the effect of fish oil on body composition is still uncertain, so we performed a systematic review of randomized controlled trials and the first meta‐analysis on the association between fish or fish oil intake and body composition measures. We found evidence that participants taking fish or fish oil lost 0.59 kg more body weight than controls (95% confidence interval [ CI ]: −0.96 to −0.21). Treatment groups lost 0.24 kg m −2 (body mass index) more than controls (−0.40 to −0.08), and 0.49 % more body fat than controls (−0.97 to −0.01). Fish or fish oil reduced waist circumference by 0.81 cm (−1.34 to −0.28) compared with control. There was no difference for fat mass and lean body mass. Further research is needed to confirm or refute our findings and to reveal possible mechanisms by which n3‐ PUFAs might reduce weight.