SynthesisDiabetes, obesity & metabolism2026
Evaluating the use of virtual reality for weight management: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Diabetes, obesity & metabolism, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Evaluating the use of virtual reality for weight management: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Pooled it
- "Your Digital Doctor Will Now See You": A Narrative Review of VR and AI Technology in Chronic Illness Management.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsThis study aims to clarify the effect of VR as an additional method to common treatments for weight management in adults using a systematic review and meta-analytic design. MATERIALS AND
methodsA comprehensive literature search was performed through Medline, Embase, CENTRAL, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Web of Science Core Collection to identify the eligible studies that investigated the effect of VR-enhanced treatment (i.e., VR to deliver conventional treatment) on weight management among adults seeking weight loss compared to conventional treatments alone. The included studies were assessed by the INSPECT-SR tool for trustworthiness and authenticity. Body weight and BMI data at baseline, post-intervention, and at follow-up (maintenance phase) were collected to estimate the effect size.
resultsEleven studies met the criteria for inclusion in the systematic review, of which 10 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled effect size indicated that VR-enhanced treatment was equally effective as conventional treatment in managing body weight and BMI during the intervention. More interestingly, the results revealed that VR-enhanced treatment was more effective on body weight management during the maintenance phase compared to conventional treatments (MD: -5.16 kg; 95% CI: -8.46, -1.85; I
conclusionThe findings suggest that VR-enhanced treatment may offer a more effective approach for maintaining weight loss than conventional methods; however, these results should be interpreted with caution, as they are derived from a small number of studies, some of which raise serious concerns regarding conduct, governance, and transparency, highlighting the need for rigorous clinical trials to reach a definitive conclusion.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
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.