Melatonin supplementation and anthropometry indices in adults: A systematic review ofclinical trials

Introduction: Obesity raised a global concern that has a wide range of disorders and the need to identify lowrisktreatment strategies to combat them. Melatonin is one of the available supplements that has promisingeffects on a wide range of metabolic disorders by increasing activity of brown fats and modulating intestinalmicrobiota. Hence, the present study aimed to systematically review the clinical trial studies investigating theeffects of melatonin supplementation on the body composition.Methods: We searched in PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Science and SID from ۲۰۱۶ upto January ۲۰۲۲ using this Mesh Terms: “Obesity” OR “Overweight” OR “Weight loss” AND “Melatonin”. Weinclude RCTs with at least one control group that reported the effect of melatonin on body weight and excludednon-RCT studies and studies with less than one week follow up.Results: We screened ۱۸۳ studies and after omitting duplicates and unrelated results, ۱۰ studies were includedto this systematic review. ۹ studies showed that melatonin intake could significantly reduce body mass indexand waist circumference. Only one study did not reveal any significant effects of melatonin supplementation onbody weight. None of the studies reported any side-effect use of melatonin supplementation.Conclusion: Studies showed promising results for considering melatonin as a safe supplement in reduction ofobesity and overweight; However, to confirm these results, more extensive studies with different doses andlonger interventions are needed