Effetti di una dieta vegetariana combinata con l'esercizio aerobico sul controllo glicemico, sull'insulino-resistenza e sulla composizione corporea: una revisione sistematica e meta-analisi

Vegetarian diets and aerobic exercise are increasingly accepted as a common way to improve lifestyle. Several studies have shown that vegetarian diets combined with aerobic exercise interventions have a significant effect on preventing and reducing the risk of metabolic diseases. A search of the PubMed, EBSCO, Embase, CENTRAL, and Web of Science databases was conducted for comparative studies of pre- and post-vegetarian diet adoption combined with aerobic exercise interventions on glycemic control and body composition. Qualitative reviews and meta-analyses of fixed and random effects were conducted to pool available data. The results were validated by sensitivity analysis. A total of 27 studies were selected for meta-analysis. Combining the studies included in the meta-analysis showed a mean difference for homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance of − 0.75 (− 1.08 to − 0.42), fasting plasma glucose of − 0.27(− 0.30 to − 0.23), waist circumference of − 1.10 (− 5.06 to 2.86) and body mass index of − 0.70 (− 1.38 to − 0.01). In summary, our findings suggest that participants who adopted a vegetarian diet combined with aerobic exercise intervention had significantly lower fasting plasma glucose and insulin levels and improved body composition compared to preintervention participants. Level I, systematic review and meta-analysis. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40519-023-01536-5.