| Effect | None |
| Trial Design | Meta analysis |
| Trial Length | 6+ Months |
| Number of Subjects | 2583 |
| Sex | Both Genders |
| Age Range | 18-29, 30-44, 45-64, 65+ |
| Body Types | Obese, Overweight |
This systematic review and meta-analysis of 25 human interventional studies investigated the changes in inflammatory biomarkers as a consequence of adopting a plant-based diet in 2,689 obese and overweight participants.
The median age was 53 years (28–68 years) and the study durations ranged from 6 to 96 weeks. The median BMI of participants was 29 kg m-2.
The following biomarkers of inflammatory status were meta-analyzed: C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumour necrosisfactor-alpha (TNF-ɑ), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM), leptin,adiponectin and resistin.
Consumption of a plant-based diet was associated with a reduction in CRP, IL-6, and sICAM. No effects were found for TNF-a, resistin, adiponectin, and leptin.
Overall, a plant-based diet
A major limitation of this meta-analysis is that some studies allowed small amounts of animal products. Hence, the study did not investigate the effects of a vegan diet in a strict sense but merely that of eating a primarily plant-based diet. Another limitation is that the included studies were highly heterogeneous, leading the authors to meta-analyze studies that were too different from each other to be sensibly combined.
