Research
Energy balance
Viscous fiber supplementation (median dose 8 g/day) leads to modest reductions in body weight and waist circumference in individuals on ad libitum diets, primarily through increased satiety and energy excretion.
If you are not strictly counting calories, adding about 8 grams of viscous fiber daily (found in foods like oats, beans, or supplements) can help modestly reduce body weight and waist size by making you feel fuller and slightly increasing calorie excretion.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
The authors reported that a median dose of 8 g/day of viscous fiber for a median duration of 8 weeks resulted in greater reductions in body weight (MD: -0.33 kg; 95% CI: -0.51, -0.14 kg) and waist circumference (MD: -0.63 cm; 95% CI: -1.11, -0.16 cm), compared to the control conditions.
Why this rating
Based on meta-analyses of RCTs showing consistent, albeit modest, effects.
Source
Protein, fiber, and exercise: a narrative review of their roles in weight management and cardiometabolic health
Liana L. Guarneiri et al. · Lipids in Health and Disease · 2025
DOI 10.1186/s12944-025-02659-7
narrative_reviewCited 7×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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