Efficacy and Safety of Ayurveda Interventions for Obesity

Abstract

Background: Obesity is similar to Sthaulya or Medoroga described in Ayurvedic classical texts. Results from case studies/series and small clinical trials concluded that Ayurveda interventions have been effective in the management of obesity. This protocol aimed to do a systematic review of clinical studies related to Ayurvedic interventions in the management of obesity and further meta-analysis of eligible studies to generate the evidence regarding effectiveness and safety of Ayurvedic treatment modalities for obesity. Materials and methods: Clinical studies related to Ayurvedic interventions in the management of Sthaulya/Medoroga or overweight/obesity published in English/Hindi will be screened as per the inclusion criteria without restriction on publication date and type. Primary outcomes to be assessed will be improvement in clinical features of Sthaulya/Medoroga and change in body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, and skin-fold thickness. Data will be extracted independently by two review authors on study characteristics (authorship, publication-related information, methodology, participants, interventions, comparators, outcomes, and results) in a prestructured format for assessment of study quality and data analysis. Two authors will independently assess the risk of bias in included studies. We will conduct metaanalyses only when the included studies will be sufficiently homogeneous in terms of design, study population characteristics, interventions, and outcome measures. If meta-analyses will not be conducive, we will summarize the results of included studies as systematic qualitative synthesis. Conclusion: The results generated from this review will be helpful in identifying the status of evidence for Ayurvedic interventions in management of obesity. It will also provide way for future research to generate stronger evidence regarding efficacy of Ayurvedic interventions in the treatment of obesity. Clinical significance: The study will be able to generate evidence for effective implementation of Ayurvedic interventions in treatment and prevention strategies for obesity. Study registration: PROSPERO 2019—CRD42019130104.