Commercial Very Low Energy Meal Replacements for Preoperative Weight Loss in Obese Patients: a Systematic Review

This systematic review assessed feasibility and effectiveness of preoperative meal replacements to improve surgical outcomes for obese patients. PRISMA guidelines were followed and electronic databases searched for articles between January 1990 and March 2015. Fifteen studies (942 participants including 351 controls) were included, 13 studies (n = 750) in bariatric patients. Adverse effects and dropout rates were minimal. Ten out of 14 studies...