Effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation on appetite: a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials

Background The current studies explore the effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on appetite. Objective To examine the effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) on appetite using a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials (CTs). Patients and methods Online databases including PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched up to January 2022. A random-effects model was used to compare the overall standardized mean difference in appetite scores between n-3 PUFAs supplemented and control individuals. Results Fifteen eligible CTs with 1504 participants (872 for n-3 PUFA supplementation and 632 for placebo groups) were included in our systematic review. The meta-analysis showed no significant difference in overall appetite score between n-3 PUFAs supplemented and control groups (standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.458, 95% confidence interval [CI] − 0.327, 1.242, P value = 0.25). However, the n-3 PUFA supplementation significantly increased the desire to eat (SMD = 1.07, 95% CI 0.116, 2.029, P = 0.02) compared to control. Conclusion Although we found no effect of omega-3 supplementation on overall appetite score, it modestly increases the desire to eat. Further CTs evaluating the effect of PUFAs on appetite are still needed to confirm these findings.