Positive Health Online

Abstract

SASANFAR and COLLEAGUES,  (1)Research Center for Food Hygiene and Safety, School of Public Health, Shahid  Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran; (2)Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, P O Box 8915173160, Yazd, Iran; (3)Cancer Research Center, Cancer Institute of Iran, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; (4)Student Research Committee, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran; (5)Departments of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; (6)Research Center for Food Hygiene and Safety, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran. abargouei@ssu.ac.ir.;(7)Yazd Cardiovascular Research Center, Non-Communicable Diseases Research Institute, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran. abargouei@ssu.ac.ir. (8)Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, P O Box 8915173160, Yazd, Iran. abargouei@ssu.ac.ir.  studied the effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) on appetite using a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials (CTs).

Background

The current studies explore the effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on appetite. Objective: To examine the effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) on appetite using a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials (CTs).

Methodology

Online databases including PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched up to January 2022. A random-effects model was used to compare the overall standardized mean difference in appetite scores between n-3 PUFAs supplemented and control individuals.

Results

Fifteen eligible CTs with 1504 participants (872 for n-3 PUFA supplementation and 632 for placebo groups) were included in our systematic review. The meta-analysis showed no significant difference in overall appetite score between n-3 PUFAs supplemented and control groups (standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.458, 95% confidence interval [CI] - 0.327, 1.242, P value = 0.25). However, the n-3 PUFA supplementation significantly increased the desire to eat (SMD = 1.07, 95% CI 0.116, 2.029, P = 0.02) compared to control.

Conclusion

Although we found no effect of omega-3 supplementation on overall appetite score, it modestly increases the desire to eat. Further CTs evaluating the effect of PUFAs on appetite are still needed to confirm these findings. © 2024.  Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

References

Sasanfar B(1)(2)(3)(4), Toorang F(3)(5), Salehi-Abarghouei A(6)(7)(8). Effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation on appetite: a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials. Syst Rev;13(1):44. doi: 10.1186/s13643-023-02430-y. Jan 27 2024