Are Millets More Effective in Managing Hyperlipidaemia and Obesity than Major Cereal Staples? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Seetha Anitha, Takuji Tsusaka, Rosemary Botha, Joanna Kane-Potaka, David Ian Givens, Ananthan Rajendran and Raj Kumar Bhandari
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Seetha Anitha: Enabling System Transformation (EST), International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad 502324, India
Rosemary Botha: One Acre Fund, KG 7 Ave, BHC House, Kigali, Rwanda
Joanna Kane-Potaka: Enabling System Transformation (EST), International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad 502324, India
David Ian Givens: Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6EU, UK
Ananthan Rajendran: National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad 500007, India
Raj Kumar Bhandari: National Technical Board of Nutrition, Government of India (GoI), New Delhi 110001, India

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-10

Abstract: Millets are important staples across developing countries in Asia and Africa. A previous systematic review and meta-analysis showed that eating millets significantly controlled hyperlipidaemia and obesity by focusing on a comparison of pre- and post-intervention measurements. This study further provides meta-analysis of the effects of the consumption of millets on hyperlipidaemia and obesity by analysing millets against other staple grains using the difference-in-differences method, where the effects were computed on the Standardised Mean Difference scale. Thus, only studies that included a control group as well as the baseline were included. The results from twelve eligible studies on blood lipid profile show significant ( p < 0.05) favourable effects of consuming millets compared to other staples (rice, wheat, and quinoa). Specifically, the effects on total cholesterol, triacylglycerol, and very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were −0.44, −0.29, and −0.41, respectively ( p < 0.05), while the effect on the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level was +0.59 ( p < 0.05). In addition, the effects on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and the body mass index were −0.60 and −0.29, respectively, with p = 0.06 each. While this study strengthens the evidence that the consumption of millets contributes to reducing the risks of hyperlipidaemia, and therefore cardiovascular diseases, more detailed and rigorous studies are recommended.

Keywords: lipid profile; millet consumption; nutrition; staple crop; hyperlipidaemia; obesity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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