SynthesisJournal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics2023
Healthy Eating Index Diet Quality in Randomized Weight Loss Trials: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Healthy Eating Index Diet Quality in Randomized Weight Loss Trials: A Systematic Review.Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · 2023Pooled it
- Weight Loss Intervention Promoting an Adapted Mediterranean-Style Dietary Pattern: The DELISH Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2026Trial
- Effectiveness of a digital weight management program on diet quality: a randomized controlled trial.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2025Trial
- Sex moderates diet quality differences in integrated collaborative care for comorbid obesity and depression: Post-hoc analysis of the RAINBOW RCT.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2025Trial
- Intake of Pistachios as a Nighttime Snack Has Similar Effects on Short- and Longer-Term Glycemic Control Compared with Education to Consume 1-2 Carbohydrate Exchanges in Adults with Prediabetes: A 12-Wk Randomized Crossover Trial.The Journal of nutrition · 2024Trial
- Effect of an mHealth weight loss intervention on Healthy Eating Index diet quality: the SMARTER randomised controlled trial.The British journal of nutrition · 2023Trial
- Trial
- A cross-sectional analysis of baseline diet quality among participants enrolled in delicious eating for life in the southern homes weight loss randomized trial.Nutrition and health · 2026Article
- APOE-ε4 moderates the association between diet quality and executive function in middle-aged women at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease.Journal of nutritional science · 2026Article
- Integrating a pilot study and large trial into one adaptive design.Contemporary clinical trials · 2025Article
- Diet quality and nutrient distribution while using glucagon-like-peptide-1 receptor agonist: A secondary cross-sectional analysis.Obesity pillars · 2025Article
- Exploring the role of diet quality and adiposity in the pain experience: a mediation analysis.European journal of nutrition · 2025Article
- Article
- Health behaviors predicting risk of obesity in US adults: What does a healthy lifestyle look like?Obesity science & practice · 2024Article
- One Avocado per Day as Part of Usual Intake Improves Diet Quality: Exploratory Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial.Current developments in nutrition · 2024Article
- Implementing multicomponent, eHealth-based behaviour change support within a dietary intervention trial improves adherence to study-related behaviours in healthy young adults.BMC nutrition · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundWeight loss interventions focus on dietary and physical activity changes to induce weight loss. Both through weight loss and independent of it, diet quality is important for reducing chronic disease risk. However, whether and how diet quality changes over the course of a behavioral intervention is unclear.
objectiveTo systematically review the evidence from randomized controlled trials on the effect of behavioral interventions on diet quality as defined by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) among adults with overweight and obesity.
methodsPubMed, Ebscohost CINAHL, Embase, OVID APA PsycInfo, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched through May 2021. Inclusion criteria comprised randomized controlled trial design, a primary or secondary aim of weight loss, a sample of US adults with overweight or obesity, measurement using the HEI-2005, 2010, or 2015, and assessment of the time by treatment effect. Interventions must have included behavioral components and lasted at least 3 months. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool. The systematic review protocol was published on Open Science Framework.
resultsOf 3,707 citations retrieved, 18 studies met inclusion criteria. A wide array of behavioral interventions were assessed, including in-person and mobile health interventions as well as those prescribing intake of specific foods. Risk of bias in the included studies primarily arose from the measurement of the outcome variable. Sample sizes ranged from 34 to 413 participants. Nine studies used multiple dietary recalls, with few using the recommended method of Healthy Eating Index calculation. Changes in diet quality ranged from no improvement to a 20-point improvement. More often, improvement was in the 4- to 7-point range.
conclusionsThe evidence for the efficacy of behavioral weight loss interventions for improving diet quality among adults with overweight and obesity is limited. Modest improvements in HEI scores were observed in the reviewed studies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.