The main objective of the study is to conduct a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trial studies to find the relationship between dietary fiber and its association with obesity and related symptoms.

A literature search was performed by electronic means on 9 January 2024 in databases like PubMed and Google Scholar, reviewing all the RCTs published in English. A comprehensive search strategy was developed to methodically identify the research on dietary fiber and weight reduction in obese persons. The search terminology for Google Scholar was “dietary fiber and obesity”, and for PubMed was “(Dietary fiber) AND (obesity)”. The qualitative assessment of the study was evaluated by the JBI checklist and strong-to-week study. Funnel plot, Hedges’ g, and Galbraith plot were drawn for the included study.

There were 4313 articles found in the initial database search, 3930 in PubMed, 319 in Google Scholar, and 64 entries from additional sources. A significant correlation between dietary fiber and weight loss (d −0.67; 95% CI −1.04, −0.31; P˂0.001), between the BMI and dietary fiber (d −0.37; 95% CI −0.70, −0.05; P=0.02), and a non-significant correlation between weight loss and dietary fiber (d −2.36; 95% CI −5.09, 0.37; P=0.09) were found by meta-analytic pooling under a model based on random-effects. The result indicated a significant effect of the reduction of body weight, BMI, and body fat% after having a fiber-rich diet.

This meta-analysis examined a significant relationship between dietary fiber and obesity based on the included randomized controlled trial studies.