Effects of dietary and exercise intervention on weight loss and body composition in obese postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: This study examined the effects of dietary and exercise interventions on weight loss and body composition in overweight/obese peri-and postmenopausal women. Methods: Medline, Central, Embase, and Google Scholar databases were searched for relevant trials conducted until December 31, 2016. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and prospective studies of overweight/obese peri-or postmenopausal women that examined the effects of dietary or exercise interventions, alone or combined, on weight loss were included. The primary outcome was percentage reduction in body weight. Results: From 292 studies initially identified, 11 studies with 12 sets of participants were included. Both dietary and exercise intervention groups had significantly greater weight loss 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). Combined dietary and exercise interventions resulted in greater weight loss than dietary interventions alone (diet plus exercise vs diet: difference in means = -1.22, 95% CI, -2.14 to -0.29, P = 0.010). Diet plus exercise resulted in 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) than diet alone. Conclusions: Dietary interventions reduced body weight and body composition profile parameters in peri-and postmenopausal women more than exercise alone. The addition of exercise reinforced the effect of dietary interventions on changing body weight and composition.