Submit Manuscript | http://medcraveonline.com Introduction Physiological description of fber implies that dietary fber is a plant subunit that is not being degraded to absorbable subunits in the small intestine by alimentary enzymes found in human beings. 1 Generally, dietary fbers are non-starch polysaccharides including cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, pectin, gum and mucilage and non-polysaccharide (lignin). Health benefts of the consumption of fber rich foods ranging from prevention and treatment of obesity, reduction of blood glucose and cholesterol level, glycemic regulation, and prevention of intestinal diseases, like constipation, hemorrhoid, diverticular disease and colon cancer. 2 According to recommended dietary allowances (RDA), the dietary fber of 35g/ day is recommended for healthy adults. 3 A recent study shows the gradual reduction of dietary fber consumption and much lower intake of dietary fber 25g/day in Western countries has been reported. 4 On the contrary, epidemiologic and cross-sectional studies indicate that lower intake of dietary fber is associated with obesity development. 5 Obesity is one of the risk factors for morbidity and mortality including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular, osteoarthritis, malignant and metabolic diseases while the number of obese people is increasing with time. 6 Nguyen et al., 7 reported that approximately 1.5billion adults are overweight or obese around the world, and obesity is being concerned as a global epidemic. 8 It is clear that obesity is a medical issue, which results in more cost on health care systems in both developing and developed countries. 9 Moreover, treating obesity through weight management is very important but notoriously diffcult. According to the nutritional point of view, there is an association between dietary fber intake and weight management. In this article, we emphasize on the role of dietary fber intake regarding obesity management. Role of fber in weight management Properties of dietary fber Dietary fber is a diverse group of polysaccharides and each of them has a unique chemical structure with distinguishing physical properties, like water-holding capacity, adsorption, fermentability, and viscosity. Physiologic behavior of fber largely depends on both of chemical structure and physical properties. 10 A simpler classifcation of dietary fber based on solubility and fermentability is shown in Table 1. According to Galisteo et al., 11 short chain fatty acids from colonic fermentation of soluble fber possess benefcial effects on lipid metabolism with cardiovascular disease prevention, mucosal differentiation and mucosal barrier function. In contrast, insoluble fbers have low fermentability with passive water-attracting properties that promote the fecal bulk, softening & laxation. 12 Adv Obes Weight Manag Control. 2017;7(3):295‒297. 295 © 2017 Sarker et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially. Dietary fber and obesity management - a review Volume 7 Issue 3 - 2017 Manobendro Sarker, 1 Maksudur Rahman 2,3 1 Department of Food Engineering and Technology, State University of Bangladesh, Bangladesh 2 Department of Agricultural and Industrial Engineering, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Bangladesh 3 School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China Correspondence: Manobendro Sarker, Lecturer, Department of Food Engineering and Technology, State University of Bangladesh, Mobile +8801731410727, Email manob08@gmail.com Received: August 21, 2017 | Published: September 19, 2017 Abstract Dietary fiber is heterogeneous and indigestible plant subunit, which has been widely used as a complementary or alternative agent in obesity management while obesity is considered as a risk factor for morbidity and mortality. At present times, reduction in fiber intake has been surprisingly found due to change in food habit and life style, even the amount is so far below the recommended level. Recently, extracted fibers from plant sources have been incorporated into meal whereas the benefits include not only obesity management but also management of cardiovascular diseases, blood sugar, digestive and general illness. This paper focuses a review on the role of different types of dietary fiber and supplements on body weight and obesity management. Keywords: dietary fiber, obesity, weight management, soluble fiber, insoluble fiber Advances in Obesity Weight Management & Control Mini Review Open Access Table 1 Different types of dietary fber. 13,14 Name Solubility Fermentability Source Cellulose Insoluble Slow degradation All plant cell walls Hemicellulose Insoluble/soluble Quick degradation than cellulose Matrix of all plant cell walls Lignin Insoluble No degradation Woody plant tissue Pectin Soluble Rapid degradation Ripe fruits Gum Soluble/dispersible Rapid degradation Legumes Mucilage Soluble/dispersible Rapid degradation Seeds