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Short-term BMI changes associated with self-selected weight-control dietary patterns among Chinese office-based
Guyanan Li1, Siqi Wang1, Chunyan Liu1
1College of Public Health, Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Background:
Digital weight-management platforms increasingly provide multiple dietary strategies that users may select according to personal preference, cultural compatibility and perceived feasibility. However, real-world evidence regarding short-term weight changes associated with self-selected dietary patterns among Chinese office-based adults remains limited.
Methods:
This real-world observational study used data from an online weight-management platform in China between September and October 2024. Adults aged 18-60 years with self-reported office-based employment and available baseline and follow-up weight records were included. Participants voluntarily selected one of six dietary pattern groups: 16:8 time-restricted eating, 5:2 intermittent fasting, flexitarian diet, moderate-to-high protein diet, calorie-restricted balanced diet (CRD), or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH). Within-group BMI changes were tested using paired t-tests, and between-group BMI changes were assessed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) adjusting for age, sex, baseline BMI, and follow-up duration.
Results:
A total of 5066 participants were included (mean age 31.53± 10.69 years; 94.20% female), and the CRD (39.42%) were the most commonly selected dietary patterns, whereas the flexitarian and DASH groups were substantially smaller. The median follow-up duration was 19 days. Significant within-group reductions in BMI were observed in the 16:8 time-restricted eating (-0.46 kg/m2), moderate-to-high protein (-0.28 kg/m2), CRD (-0.30 kg/m2), and flexitarian (-1.06 kg/m2) groups. After adjustment for age, sex, baseline BMI, and follow-up duration, BMI change differed across dietary pattern groups (ANCOVA: F = 3.648, P = 0.003).
Conclusions:
In this exploratory real-world observational study, several self-selected dietary patterns were associated with modest short-term reductions in BMI among Chinese office-based adults using a digital weight-management platform. Because dietary pattern selection was voluntary and follow-up was short, the findings should be interpreted as observational associations rather than evidence of comparative dietary effectiveness. Further studies with longer follow-up and more rigorous comparative designs are needed.