Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26950145›Full record

ReviewNutrients2016

An Increase in the Omega-6/Omega-3 Fatty Acid Ratio Increases the Risk for Obesity.

Artemis P Simopoulos

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Nutrients, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 657 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
657citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
100.2field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

657 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 1,594 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  5. High Omega-3, Low Omega-6 Diet With Fish Oil for Men With Prostate Cancer on Active Surveillance: The CAPFISH-3 Randomized Clinical Trial.Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2025
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  16. Biofortification ofFood science & nutrition · 2026
    Article
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597 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author.

Artemis P SimopoulosThe Center for Genetics, Nutrition and Health, 4330 Klingle Street NW, Washington, DC 20016, USA. cgnh@bellatlantic.net.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In the past three decades, total fat and saturated fat intake as a percentage of total calories has continuously decreased in Western diets, while the intake of omega-6 fatty acid increased and the omega-3 fatty acid decreased, resulting in a large increase in the omega-6/omega-3 ratio from 1:1 during evolution to 20:1 today or even higher. This change in the composition of fatty acids parallels a significant increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity. Experimental studies have suggested that omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids elicit divergent effects on body fat gain through mechanisms of adipogenesis, browning of adipose tissue, lipid homeostasis, brain-gut-adipose tissue axis, and most importantly systemic inflammation. Prospective studies clearly show an increase in the risk of obesity as the level of omega-6 fatty acids and the omega-6/omega-3 ratio increase in red blood cell (RBC) membrane phospholipids, whereas high omega-3 RBC membrane phospholipids decrease the risk of obesity. Recent studies in humans show that in addition to absolute amounts of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acid intake, the omega-6/omega-3 ratio plays an important role in increasing the development of obesity via both AA eicosanoid metabolites and hyperactivity of the cannabinoid system, which can be reversed with increased intake of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). A balanced omega-6/omega-3 ratio is important for health and in the prevention and management of obesity.

Indexed as

Adipose TissueAdiposityAnimalsDietDietary SupplementsFatty Acids, Omega-3Fatty Acids, Omega-6Genetic Predisposition to DiseaseHumansObesityPhenotypeRisk AssessmentRisk FactorsFatty Acids, Omega-3Fatty Acids, Omega-6browning of adipose tissueeicosanoidsendocannabinoidsFTO (Fat Mass and Obesity-Associated) Geneobesityomega-6 and omega-3 essential fatty acidsomega-6 and omega-3 fatty acid ratio

Identifiers

PMID26950145
PMCPMC4808858
OpenAlexW2292502644

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.