Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Changes in Anthropometric Variables in Adult Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies
PubMed 26474158 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0140846
What was done
Authors searched PubMed and EMBASE through July 2015 for prospective cohort studies evaluating habitual fruit, vegetable, or combined intake in relation to changes in body weight, waist circumference, or the risk of adiposity (weight gain, overweight, or obesity) in adults. Results were synthesized using random-effects meta-analyses.
What was found
Seventeen cohort studies (20 reports) with 563,277 adult participants were included. Each 100-g/day increment in fruit intake was inversely associated with weight change (-13.68 g/year; 95% CI, -22.97 to -4.40) and waist circumference change (-0.04 cm/year; 95% CI, -0.05 to -0.02). No statistically significant associations were observed for continuous weight change with combined fruit and vegetable intake or vegetable intake alone. Comparing the highest to lowest consumption categories, risk of adiposity was reduced for combined fruit and vegetable intake (odds ratio [OR] 0.91; 95% CI, 0.84 to 0.99), fruit intake (OR 0.83; 95% CI, 0.71 to 0.99), and vegetable intake (OR 0.83; 95% CI, 0.70 to 0.99).
Why it matters
This review synthesizes large-scale prospective observational data showing that habitual fruit and vegetable consumption is inversely associated with long-term weight gain and risk of adiposity in adults.
Limits
The analysis relied entirely on observational cohorts susceptible to residual confounding and self-reported dietary measurement errors. The authors noted the analysis was limited by low overall study quality. In addition, absolute annual effect sizes for continuous weight (-13.68 g/year per 100 g fruit) and waist circumference (-0.04 cm/year) were very small.
Cited by
- supports Epidemiological studies indicate that drinking fruit juice increases the risk for obesity, whereas consuming whole natural fruits does not.