Study designs of evaluations included in the review
Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) lasting 12 months or longer were eligible for inclusion.
Specific interventions included in the review
All interventions for weight loss and maintenance were eligible for inclusion. The interventions included in the literature search were diet, physical activity, behaviour modification, anti-obesity medications, meal replacements, bariatric surgery, or combined interventions. Interventions implemented in the included studies were advice alone (controls), diet alone, diet plus exercise, meal replacements, medications and very low calorie diets (VLCDs).
Participants included in the review
Eligible participants were adult women with a body mass index (BMI) of greater than 25. Only studies in which all the participants were women were included in the review. In the included studies, the baseline BMI ranged from 30 to 38 and body weight from 76.4 to 102.1 kg.
Outcomes assessed in the review
The primary outcome of interest was weight loss. Lipids, blood- pressure, fitness, quality of life, medication changes and prevention of disease were specified as secondary outcomes, but were not reported in the review.
How were decisions on the relevance of primary studies made?
The author did not state how the papers were selected for the review, or how many reviewers performed the selection.