Cargando…

Randomized Controlled Trials to Treat Obesity in Military Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

In recent years, overweight and obesity have reached an alarmingly high incidence and prevalence worldwide; they have also been steadily increasing in military populations. Military personnel, as an occupational group, are often exposed to stressful and harmful environments that represent a risk fac...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Gravina, Davide, Keeler, Johanna Louise, Akkese, Melahat Nur, Bektas, Sevgi, Fina, Paula, Tweed, Charles, Willmund, Gerd-Dieter, Treasure, Janet, Himmerich, Hubertus
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10674729/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38004172
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu15224778
_version_ 1785149743531294720
author Gravina, Davide
Keeler, Johanna Louise
Akkese, Melahat Nur
Bektas, Sevgi
Fina, Paula
Tweed, Charles
Willmund, Gerd-Dieter
Treasure, Janet
Himmerich, Hubertus
author_facet Gravina, Davide
Keeler, Johanna Louise
Akkese, Melahat Nur
Bektas, Sevgi
Fina, Paula
Tweed, Charles
Willmund, Gerd-Dieter
Treasure, Janet
Himmerich, Hubertus
author_sort Gravina, Davide
collection PubMed
description In recent years, overweight and obesity have reached an alarmingly high incidence and prevalence worldwide; they have also been steadily increasing in military populations. Military personnel, as an occupational group, are often exposed to stressful and harmful environments that represent a risk factor for disordered eating, with major repercussions on both physical and mental health. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of weight loss interventions and assess the significance of current obesity treatments for these populations. Three online databases (PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science) were screened to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) aiming to treat obesity in active-duty military personnel and veterans. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted for body weight (BW) and body mass index (BMI) values, both longitudinally comparing treatment groups from pre-to-post intervention and cross-sectionally comparing the treatment group to controls at the end of the intervention. A total of 21 studies were included: 16 cross-sectional (BW: n = 15; BMI: n = 12) and 16 longitudinal (BW: n = 15; BMI: n = 12) studies were meta-analyzed, and 5 studies were narratively synthesized. A significant small overall BW and BMI reduction from baseline to post-intervention was observed (BW: g = −0.10; p = 0.015; BMI: g = −0.32; p < 0.001), together with a decreased BMI (g = −0.16; p = 0.001) and nominally lower BW (g = −0.08; p = 0.178) in the intervention group compared to controls at the post-intervention time-point. Despite limitations, such as the heterogeneity across the included interventions and the follow-up duration, our findings highlight how current weight loss interventions are effective in terms of BW and BMI reductions in military populations and how a comprehensive approach with multiple therapeutic goals should be taken during the intervention.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-10674729
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2023
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-106747292023-11-14 Randomized Controlled Trials to Treat Obesity in Military Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Gravina, Davide Keeler, Johanna Louise Akkese, Melahat Nur Bektas, Sevgi Fina, Paula Tweed, Charles Willmund, Gerd-Dieter Treasure, Janet Himmerich, Hubertus Nutrients Systematic Review In recent years, overweight and obesity have reached an alarmingly high incidence and prevalence worldwide; they have also been steadily increasing in military populations. Military personnel, as an occupational group, are often exposed to stressful and harmful environments that represent a risk factor for disordered eating, with major repercussions on both physical and mental health. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of weight loss interventions and assess the significance of current obesity treatments for these populations. Three online databases (PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science) were screened to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) aiming to treat obesity in active-duty military personnel and veterans. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted for body weight (BW) and body mass index (BMI) values, both longitudinally comparing treatment groups from pre-to-post intervention and cross-sectionally comparing the treatment group to controls at the end of the intervention. A total of 21 studies were included: 16 cross-sectional (BW: n = 15; BMI: n = 12) and 16 longitudinal (BW: n = 15; BMI: n = 12) studies were meta-analyzed, and 5 studies were narratively synthesized. A significant small overall BW and BMI reduction from baseline to post-intervention was observed (BW: g = −0.10; p = 0.015; BMI: g = −0.32; p < 0.001), together with a decreased BMI (g = −0.16; p = 0.001) and nominally lower BW (g = −0.08; p = 0.178) in the intervention group compared to controls at the post-intervention time-point. Despite limitations, such as the heterogeneity across the included interventions and the follow-up duration, our findings highlight how current weight loss interventions are effective in terms of BW and BMI reductions in military populations and how a comprehensive approach with multiple therapeutic goals should be taken during the intervention. MDPI 2023-11-14 /pmc/articles/PMC10674729/ /pubmed/38004172 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu15224778 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Systematic Review
Gravina, Davide
Keeler, Johanna Louise
Akkese, Melahat Nur
Bektas, Sevgi
Fina, Paula
Tweed, Charles
Willmund, Gerd-Dieter
Treasure, Janet
Himmerich, Hubertus
Randomized Controlled Trials to Treat Obesity in Military Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
title Randomized Controlled Trials to Treat Obesity in Military Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
title_full Randomized Controlled Trials to Treat Obesity in Military Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
title_fullStr Randomized Controlled Trials to Treat Obesity in Military Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
title_full_unstemmed Randomized Controlled Trials to Treat Obesity in Military Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
title_short Randomized Controlled Trials to Treat Obesity in Military Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
title_sort randomized controlled trials to treat obesity in military populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis
topic Systematic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10674729/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38004172
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu15224778
work_keys_str_mv AT gravinadavide randomizedcontrolledtrialstotreatobesityinmilitarypopulationsasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT keelerjohannalouise randomizedcontrolledtrialstotreatobesityinmilitarypopulationsasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT akkesemelahatnur randomizedcontrolledtrialstotreatobesityinmilitarypopulationsasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT bektassevgi randomizedcontrolledtrialstotreatobesityinmilitarypopulationsasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT finapaula randomizedcontrolledtrialstotreatobesityinmilitarypopulationsasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT tweedcharles randomizedcontrolledtrialstotreatobesityinmilitarypopulationsasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT willmundgerddieter randomizedcontrolledtrialstotreatobesityinmilitarypopulationsasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT treasurejanet randomizedcontrolledtrialstotreatobesityinmilitarypopulationsasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT himmerichhubertus randomizedcontrolledtrialstotreatobesityinmilitarypopulationsasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis