Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40619882›Full record

SynthesisJournal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition2025

Combined exercise training and dietary interventions versus independent effect of exercise on ectopic fat in individuals with overweight and obesity: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression.

Fatemeh Kazeminasab, Motahareh Mohebinejad, Mohammad Hossein Mahboobi, Maedeh Nojoumi, Saba Belyani, Reza Bagheri, Fred Dutheil

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Fatemeh KazeminasabUniversity of Kashan, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Faculty of Humanities, Kashan, Iran.ORCID 0000-0002-7309-3637
Motahareh MohebinejadUniversity of Kashan, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Faculty of Humanities, Kashan, Iran.ORCID 0009-0009-2863-8288
Mohammad Hossein MahboobiUniversity of Kashan, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Faculty of Humanities, Kashan, Iran.ORCID 0009-0008-6707-1782
Maedeh NojoumiMashhad University of Medical Sciences, Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad, Iran.ORCID 0009-0000-7494-7895
Saba BelyaniThe Ohio State University, Human Nutrition Program, Department of Human Sciences, Columbus, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7044-1819
Reza BagheriUniversity of Isfahan, Department of Exercise Physiology, Isfahan, Iran.ORCID 0000-0003-1433-2906
Fred DutheilUniversity Hospital of Clermont-Ferrand, Preventive and Occupational Medicine, Witty Fit, Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, LaPSCo, Physiological and Psychosocial Stress, CHU Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand, France.ORCID 0000-0002-1468-6029

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimWhile it is well established that reducing ectopic fat can help prevent insulin resistance in individuals with overweight or obesity, it remains unclear whether diet alone, exercise alone, or their combination is most effective in reducing specific ectopic fat depots. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effects of diet-only, and combined diet-plus-exercise interventions versus exercise only on ectopic fat reduction, and weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity.

methodsWeb of Science, PubMed, and Scopus were searched for original articles, published until 1 March 2024 (no limitation on publication dates) that included diet only/or exercise and diet versus exercise alone on body weight, and ectopic fat in adults with overweight or obesity. Weighted mean differences (WMD) for body weight, liver fat, standardized mean differences (SMD) for visceral fat area (VFA), and intramuscular triglyceride (IMTG), and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were determined using random-effects models. Studies using noninvasive imaging techniques such as Computerized Tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and hydrogen-based Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (H-MRs) for ectopic fat were included in this meta-analysis.

resultsA total of 17 studies, including 732 participants aged 24.27 to 70.5 years (309 participants with metabolic diseases, and 423 without metabolic diseases) and 38 intervention groups, met the inclusion criteria. The combined intervention of exercise and diet significantly reduced body weight compared to exercise alone [WMD = -2.85 kg,

conclusionCombined exercise and dietary interventions are more effective than exercise alone in reducing body weight. While VFA was reduced following long-term interventions of exercise in combination with caloric restriction, our analyses showed no change in liver fat, or IMTG. Additional investigation is required to delve into the processes behind these findings and to pinpoint treatments that efficiently focus on reducing ectopic fat.

Indexed as

DietExerciseExercise TherapyObesityOverweightAdipose TissueHumansIntra-Abdominal FatWeight Lossdietary interventionExercise trainingmetabolic diseasemetabolic healthobesity

Identifiers

PMID40619882
PMCPMC12239108

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.