Research
Energy balance
Weight loss outcomes (kg or % loss) in behavioral interventions do not consistently favor either 'more' or 'less' advantaged groups, with most trials finding no significant difference in weight loss by socioeconomic or demographic status.
Your socioeconomic background does not predict your weight loss success. While you might face more barriers to starting or sticking with a program, if you do complete it, you are likely to lose the same amount of weight as anyone else.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
The majority (n = 50) found that weight loss favored neither less nor more advantaged groups.
Why this rating
Based on 79 analyses across 34 trials.
Source
A systematic review of inequalities in the uptake of, adherence to, and effectiveness of behavioral weight management interventions in adults
Jack M Birch et al. · Obesity Reviews · 2022
DOI 10.1111/obr.13438
systematic_review · n=36805Cited 60×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Behavioral weight management interventions (WLs and WLMs) generally do not exacerbate health inequalities, as most trials find no significant gradient in uptake, adherence, or outcomes across socioeconomic and demographic groups.Good
- When inequalities in behavioral weight management interventions do exist, they tend to favor 'more advantaged' groups (e.g., older, higher SES, employed) in terms of trial uptake, intervention adherence, and trial attrition.Good
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