Bouzalmate Hajjaj, AmiraMasso Guijarro, PalomaKhan, Khalid SaeedBueno-Cavanillas, AuroraCano-Ibañez, Naomi2023-05-032023-05-032022-06-29Bouzalmate Hajjaj A, Massó Guijarro P, Khan KS, Bueno-Cavanillas A, Cano-Ibáñez N. A systematic review and meta-analysis of weight loss in control group participants of lifestyle randomized trials. Sci Rep. 2022 Jul 18;12(1):12252.http://hdl.handle.net/10668/19617Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of lifestyle modification have reported beneficial effects of interventions, compared to control. Whether participation in the control group has benefits is unknown. To determine whether control group participants experience weight loss during the course of RCTs. After prospective registration (PROSPERO CRD42021233070), we conducted searches in Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane library and Clinicaltrials.gov databases from inception to May 2021 without language restriction to capture RCTs on dietary advice or physical activity interventions in adults with overweight, obesity or metabolic syndrome. Data extraction and study quality assessment was performed by two independent reviewers. Weight loss in the control group, i.e., the difference between baseline and post-intervention, was pooled using random effects model generating mean difference and 95% confidence interval (CI). Heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 statistical test. Subgroup meta-analysis was performed stratifying by follow-up period, type of control group protocols and high-quality studies. Among the 22 included studies (4032 participants), the risk of bias was low in 9 (40%) studies. Overall, the controls groups experienced weight loss of - 0.41 kg (95% CI - 0.53 to - 0.28; I2 = 73.5% p enAttribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Weight managementRandomized controlled trialsOutcomes researchObesityEpidemiologyLifestyle modificationAdultControl GroupsHumansLife StyleObesityOverweightRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicWeight LossOverweightConfidence IntervalsMetabolic SyndromeWaiting ListsFollow-Up StudiesProspective StudiesMeta-Analysis as Topicresearch article35851070open accessAdultoEstilo de vidaEstudios prospectivosEstudios de seguimientoGrupos ControlHumanosIntervalos de confianzaListas de esperaMetaanálisis como asuntoObesidadPérdida de pesoSobrepesoSíndrome metabólico10.1038/s41598-022-15770-x2045-2322PMC9293970https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-15770-x.pdfhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9293970/pdf