Fruit consumption and adiposity status in adults: A systematic review of current evidence

ABSTRACT

The aim of this review was to update current understanding of the potential association between fruit consumption and adiposity status in adult populations. Electronic databases were searched from January 1, 1997 to the search date of August 15, 2014, retrieving 4382 abstracts that were reviewed for eligibility: randomized controlled trial (RCT) or prospective cohort (PC), published in English, assessing the effect of whole fruit or fruit juice consumption on adiposity in healthy adult populations. Quality ratings for the 11 included RCTs were either positive (n = 2), neutral (n = 8), or negative (n = 1), while the six included PCs were either positive (n = 4) or neutral (n = 2). Consumption of whole fruit was found to contribute to a reduced risk for long-term weight gain in middle-aged adults. Experimental trials suggest this beneficial effect of whole fruit is mediated by a reduction in total energy intake. Fruit juice, however, had an opposing effect, promoting weight gain over the long term. This review reinforces national food-based dietary guidelines, encouraging the consumption of whole fruits and replacing fruit juices with plain water, as part of a broader set of dietary strategies to reduce total dietary energy intake in adult populations.

KEYWORDS:

• Fruit
• adult
• adiposity
• review
• systematic

Conflict of interest

None of the authors has a conflict of interest to disclose, or sources of funding to declare.

Contributions

Fiona O'Leary and Lana Hebden developed the review protocol, with contributions from the other authors, and reviewed abstracts for inclusion in the review. Ervinda Singgih Lie performed the search strategy, extraction of data for RCTs with Lana Hebden and quality assessment of RCTs with Fiona O'Leary. Anna Rangan and Vasant Hirani extracted the data and conducted quality assessments for the included PCs; Lana Hebden wrote the majority of the manuscript, and devised the protocol for and conducted the meta-analysis. Margaret Allman-Farinelli, Anna Rangan, Fiona O'Leary, and Lana Hebden prepared the discussion of findings, and all the authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.