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Meta-Analysis
. 2017 Oct;7(5):273-289.
doi: 10.1111/cob.12203. Epub 2017 Jul 10.

A systematic review of reviews: exploring the relationship between obesity, weight loss and health-related quality of life

R L Kolotkin  1   2   3   4   5 , J R Andersen  3   4
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

A systematic review of reviews: exploring the relationship between obesity, weight loss and health-related quality of life

R L Kolotkin et al. Clin Obes. 2017 Oct.

Abstract

This is the first systematic review of reviews to assess the effect of obesity and weight loss on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). We identified 12 meta-analyses/systematic reviews published between January 2001 and July 2016. They addressed the following themes: (i) the relationship between weight/body mass index and HRQoL (baseline/pre-intervention; n = 2). (ii) HRQoL after weight loss (varied interventions and/or study design; n = 2). (iii) HRQoL after weight loss (randomized controlled trials only; n = 2). (iv) HRQoL after bariatric surgery (n = 6). We found that in all populations, obesity was associated with significantly lower generic and obesity-specific HRQoL. The relationship between weight loss and improved HRQoL was consistently demonstrated after bariatric surgery, perhaps due to a greater than average weight loss compared with other treatments. Improved HRQoL was evident after non-surgical weight loss, but was not consistently demonstrated, even in randomized controlled trials. This inconsistency may be attributed to variation in quality of reporting, assessment measures, study populations and weight-loss interventions. We recommend longer-term studies, using both generic and obesity-specific measures, which go beyond HRQoL in isolation to exploring mediators of HRQoL changes and interactions with other variables, such as comorbidities, fitness level and body image.

Keywords: Obesity; quality of life; weight loss; weight management.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis (PRISMA) flow chart. NA, not applicable. [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Figure 2
Figure 2
Identification and selection of published review articles on obesity and/or weight management and quality of life from January 2001 to July 2016. QoL, quality of life. [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Figure 3
Figure 3
Summary of recommendations for future studies. BMI, body mass index; HRQoL, health‐related quality of life; PCS, Physical Component Summary. [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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