Research

Hormonal

The protective association between plant-based diets and weight loss is weaker or absent in individuals with existing obesity compared to those with normal or overweight status.

If you have obesity, you may find weight loss more challenging with plant-based diets due to metabolic factors like insulin resistance. However, focusing on healthful plant foods remains important for overall health and may still support weight management, even if the effect is less pronounced than in non-obese individuals.

ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
the PDI was inversely associated with weight change among individuals who had normal weight or overweight at baseline, but positively associated with weight change among individuals with obesity.
Sarah Jarvis et al. · Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism · 2022

Why this rating

Based on stratified analyses within the reviewed cohorts, showing consistent departures.

Source

Association between adherence to plant-based dietary patterns and obesity risk: a systematic review of prospective cohort studies

Sarah Jarvis et al. · Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism · 2022

DOI 10.1139/apnm-2022-0059

systematic_reviewCited 37×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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