SynthesisLipids in health and disease2022
The effects of coconut oil on the cardiometabolic profile: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.
Synthesis in Lipids in health and disease, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Dose-dependent effect of coconut oil supplementation on obesity indices: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of clinical trials.BMC nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The effect of virgin coconut oil (VCO) on cardiovascular disease risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Diabetology & metabolic syndrome · 2025Article
- Influence of Cooking Methods on Flavor Parameters and Sensory Quality of Tibetan Sheep Meat Examined Using an Electronic Nose, an Electronic Tongue, GC-IMS, and GC-MS.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Analysis of 26 Studies of the Impact of Coconut Oil on Lipid Parameters: Beyond Total and LDL Cholesterol.Nutrients · 2025Review
- The effect of different edible oils on body weight: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.BMC nutrition · 2024Article
- Article
- Effect of different forms of coconut on the lipid profile in normal free-living healthy subjects: A randomized controlled trial (Phase II).Global epidemiology · 2024Article
- Article
- Coconut oil: an overview of cardiometabolic effects and the public health burden of misinformation.Archives of endocrinology and metabolism · 2023Review
- Virgin Olive Oil Ranks First in a New Nutritional Quality Score Due to Its Compositional Profile.Nutrients · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDespite having a 92% concentration of saturated fatty acid composition, leading to an apparently unfavorable lipid profile, body weight and glycemic effect, coconut oil is consumed worldwide. Thus, we conducted an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) to analyze the effect of coconut oil intake on different cardiometabolic outcomes.
methodsWe searched Medline, Embase, and LILACS for RCTs conducted prior to April 2022. We included RCTs that compared effects of coconut oil intake with other substances on anthropometric and metabolic profiles in adults published in all languages, and excluded non-randomized trials and short follow-up studies. Risk of bias was assessed with the RoB 2 tool and certainty of evidence with GRADE. Where possible, we performed meta-analyses using a random-effects model.
resultsWe included seven studies in the meta-analysis (n = 515; 50% females, follow up from 4 weeks to 2 years). The amount of coconut oil consumed varied and is expressed differently among studies: 12 to 30 ml of coconut oil/day (n = 5), as part of the amount of SFAs or total daily consumed fat (n = 1), a variation of 6 to 54.4 g/day (n = 5), or as part of the total caloric energy intake (15 to 21%) (n = 6). Coconut oil intake did not significantly decrease body weight (MD -0.24 kg, 95% CI -0.83 kg to 0.34 kg), waist circumference (MD -0.64 cm, 95% CI -1.69 cm to 0.41 cm), and % body fat (-0.10%, 95% CI -0.56% to 0.36%), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (MD -1.67 mg/dL, 95% CI -6.93 to 3.59 mg/dL), and triglyceride (TG) levels (MD -0.24 mg/dL, 95% CI -5.52 to 5.04 mg/dL). However, coconut oil intake was associated with a small increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (MD 3.28 mg/dL, 95% CI 0.66 to 5.90 mg/dL). Overall risk of bias was high, and certainty of evidence was very-low. Study limitations include the heterogeneity of intervention methods, in addition to small samples and short follow-ups, which undermine the effects of dietary intervention in metabolic parameters.
conclusionsCoconut oil intake revealed no clinically relevant improvement in lipid profile and body composition compared to other oils/fats. Strategies to advise the public on the consumption of other oils, not coconut oil, due to proven cardiometabolic benefits should be implemented. REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42018081461.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.