Effectiveness of south Asian food pattern in calorie restriction diet among young adults with overweight and obesity in Dhaka city- a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: As prevalence of obesity is emerging in urban settings of Bangladesh, the study aims to investigate the effects of calorie-restriction (CR) diet in weight reduction by applying the local South Asian dietary pattern.

Methodology: An 8-weeks randomized controlled trial among 120 young adults aged 18-35 year with overweight and obesity from Dhaka city were randomized where 60 participants were in a calorie-restriction diet group with South Asian food pattern, and the rest in a control group followed an ad libitum diet without any dietary counselling for 8 weeks. Participants underwent weight measurement at two weeks' intervals to determine the change in body weight with continuous weight loss motivation and rearranged meal plans to avoid repetition.

Results: Mean 2.47 kg (95% CI: 1.94, 3.01; p < 0.001) weight reduction in CR group (n = 58; 2 dropouts) group and mean 0.313 kg (95% CI: -0.36,0.053; p < 0.142) weight gain in control (n = 60) group was observed. The Body Mass Index dropped from mean 26.68 kg/m² (95% CI: 26.02,27.34; p < 0.001) to 25.65 kg/m² (95% CI: 24.99,26.32; p < 0.001) in the CR group.

Conclusion: The results of this study of weight reduction intervention provide primary evidence of successful weight loss by following local food patterns. It is an attempt to evaluate the feasibility of South Asian diet in established dietary regime. Further studies on different biochemical parameters (e.g., lipid profile, glucose) and long-term trials in the South Asian region are recommended.

Clinical trial registration: This trial is retrospectively registered at anzctr.org.au as ACTRN12625000219482 at 27th March, 2025.