Dietary Weight-Loss Interventions Might Lower Early All-Cause Mortality

Obesity is associated with adverse health outcomes (e.g., early death, diabetes, heart disease), but whether dietary weight-loss interventions lower risks for these outcomes in obese adults is unclear. In this systematic review and meta-analysis of 54 randomized controlled trials, researchers examined the effects of dietary weight-loss interventions on all-cause, cardiovascular-related, and cancer-related mortality in more than 30,000 obese adults. All of the trials involved dietary interventions that targeted weight loss (mostly low-fat diets), with or without exercise advice or programs; median trial duration was 2 years.

Compared with controls, dietary-intervention participants experienced significantly greater weight loss after 1, 2, and…