Weight Loss Evidence

Evidence map

Set point: what the evidence base looks like

9 publications, 6 of them trials and 0 syntheses. This page describes the shape of that literature rather than summarising its conclusions.

Updated 4 min read 9 citations

What the evidence on set point is made of Of 9 publications on this topic, the breakdown by study type: 6 randomised trial, 3 review. 63randomised trial (6)review (3)
9 publications, by study type. Volume is not strength — the same count can be a settled question or a pile of commentary, and which one it is depends almost entirely on this breakdown. Harvested from PubMed and Crossref; publication type as recorded by the source.

What this literature is made of

There is a real trial literature here, but comparatively little synthesis. Individual trials can disagree, and without meta-analysis it is easy to find one that supports almost any position.

The distinction that matters most is between synthesis and primary research. A meta-analysis pools trials and is the closest thing to a settled answer a field produces. A narrative review is one group's reading of the same material and can be selective without being dishonest. Counting them together, which most citation counts do, obscures exactly the thing you want to know.

When the set point literature was published Publication years for the 9 papers on this topic, grouped into bands from before 2015 through to 2023 onwards. 2015-20193 papersBefore 20153 papers2023 onwards2 papers2020-20221 papers
Mostly settled or quiet. The most recent paper here is from 2023, which usually means either a closed question or one that has fallen out of fashion. Publication years as recorded by PubMed and Crossref.

How this page is built

Everything above is computed from the citations this site harvested from PubMed and Crossref, not written by hand. When the weekly harvest finds a new paper on this topic, these counts change and the characterisation changes with them. That is the point: a hand-written claim about how strong an evidence base is starts decaying the day it is written.

Publication type is taken as the source records it. That is imperfect — journals label inconsistently, and a paper indexed as a "review" may be a systematic one — so treat the bands as approximate. They are accurate enough to distinguish a trial literature from a commentary literature, which is the distinction that matters.

The strongest work on this topic

Ordered by study design first, then recency. The full set is listed in the references below.

  1. Circulating total and intact GDF-15 levels are not altered in response to weight loss induced by liraglutide or lorcaserin treatment in humans with obesity — Valenzuela-Vallejo L, Chrysafi P, Bello-Ramos J et al., 2022, randomised controlled trial
  2. Perfluoroalkyl substances and changes in body weight and resting metabolic rate in response to weight-loss diets: A prospective study — Liu G, Dhana K, Furtado JD et al., 2018, randomised controlled trial
  3. Thyroid hormones and changes in body weight and metabolic parameters in response to weight loss diets: the POUNDS LOST trial — Liu G, Liang L, Bray GA et al., 2017, randomised controlled trial
  4. Human plasma ghrelin levels increase during a one-year exercise program — Foster-Schubert KE, McTiernan A, Frayo RS et al., 2005, randomised controlled trial
  5. No difference in body weight decrease between a low-glycemic-index and a high-glycemic-index diet but reduced LDL cholesterol after 10-wk ad libitum intake of the low-glycemic-index diet — Sloth B, Krog-Mikkelsen I, Flint A et al., 2004, randomised controlled trial
  6. Short-term effects of prednisolone and dexamethasone on circulating concentrations of leptin and sex hormone-binding globulin in children being treated for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia — Wallace AM, Tucker P, Williams DM et al., 2003, randomised controlled trial
  7. The role of insufficient sleep and circadian misalignment in obesity — Chaput JP, McHill AW, Cox RC et al., 2023, review
  8. Child and adolescent obesity — Lister NB, Baur LA, Felix JF et al., 2023, review
  9. Obesity Energetics: Body Weight Regulation and the Effects of Diet Composition — Hall KD, Guo J, 2017, review
How much research is there on set point?
9 publications are indexed here, of which 6 are trials and 0 are syntheses.
Does more research mean a stronger conclusion?
No. Composition matters more than volume — five randomised trials support a claim far better than fifty commentaries, and citation counts do not distinguish between them.
How current is this?
The most recent paper indexed here is from 2023. The set is refreshed weekly from PubMed and Crossref.
Why does this page not tell me the answer?
Because summarising a literature into a conclusion requires reading it, and doing that automatically is how confident nonsense gets published. This page tells you how much weight a conclusion could bear; the articles on this site do the interpreting.

References

Every citation below links to the original peer-reviewed record on PubMed or via DOI. Nothing here is a substitute for medical advice.

  1. Circulating total and intact GDF-15 levels are not altered in response to weight loss induced by liraglutide or lorcaserin treatment in humans with obesity Valenzuela-Vallejo L, Chrysafi P, Bello-Ramos J, et al. · Metabolism: clinical and experimental · 2022 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 35700837Full text
  2. Perfluoroalkyl substances and changes in body weight and resting metabolic rate in response to weight-loss diets: A prospective study Liu G, Dhana K, Furtado JD, et al. · PLoS medicine · 2018 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 29438414Full text
  3. Thyroid hormones and changes in body weight and metabolic parameters in response to weight loss diets: the POUNDS LOST trial Liu G, Liang L, Bray GA, et al. · International journal of obesity (2005) · 2017 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 28138133Full text
  4. Human plasma ghrelin levels increase during a one-year exercise program Foster-Schubert KE, McTiernan A, Frayo RS, et al. · The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2005 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 15585547
  5. No difference in body weight decrease between a low-glycemic-index and a high-glycemic-index diet but reduced LDL cholesterol after 10-wk ad libitum intake of the low-glycemic-index diet Sloth B, Krog-Mikkelsen I, Flint A, et al. · The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2004 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 15277154
  6. Short-term effects of prednisolone and dexamethasone on circulating concentrations of leptin and sex hormone-binding globulin in children being treated for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia Wallace AM, Tucker P, Williams DM, et al. · Clinical endocrinology · 2003 · Randomised controlled trial DOIPubMed 12780755
  7. Child and adolescent obesity Lister NB, Baur LA, Felix JF, et al. · Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2023 · Review DOIPubMed 37202378
  8. The role of insufficient sleep and circadian misalignment in obesity Chaput JP, McHill AW, Cox RC, et al. · Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2023 · Review DOIPubMed 36280789Full text
  9. Obesity Energetics: Body Weight Regulation and the Effects of Diet Composition Hall KD, Guo J · Gastroenterology · 2017 · Review DOIPubMed 28193517Full text