Table 1.

Weight loss treatments and effects on headache in migraine and IIH. Data presented depicts means before and after intervention. BMI = Body mass index, VAS = Visual analogue scale, VRS = Verbal rating scale, MIDAS = Migraine disability assessment

Migraine
Migraine phenotype	Treatment	Weight change (BMI)	Headache frequency	Headache severity/ medication intake	Ref
Episodic migraine w/out aura	Ketogenic diet 3 months on diet	27.5 to 23.2	(n/month):5.1 to 3.2 (P < 0.05)	Tablet intake (n/month): 4.9 to 2.8 (P < 0.05)	[52]
Episodic migraine w/out aura	Nutritionist assisted diet, 3 months	27.8 to 24.6	(n/month): 6.3 to 4.2 (P < 0.05)	Tablet intake (n/month): 5.9 to 3.8 (P < 0.05)
Migraine ICHD2	Vegan diet 16 weeks	26.9 to 25.5	(n/week):2.1 to 1.7	VAS: 6.0 to 3.6 (P < 0.0001)	[53]
Migraine ICHD2	Placebo dietary supplements 16 week	26.2 to 26.2	(n/week):2.1 to 1.8	VAS: 4.7 to 4.1
Migraine w/out aura ICHD2	Gastric banding, 6 month follow-up	42.4 to 34.6	(n/month): 6.0 to 1.0 (P < 0.001)	MIDAS: 21 to 4 (P < 0.001)	[54]
IIH
Phase of disease at study entry	Treatment	Weight change (BMI)	Headache frequency	Headache severity	Ref
> 3 months after diagnosis	Low calorie diet trial 3 months	38.6 to 32.6	(Days/week): 4.4 to 2.1 (P = 0.011)	VAS: 4.2 to 1.9 (P = 0.015)	[55]
Mean 1 year after diagnosis at baseline	Bariatric surgery 1 year after randomisation	44.2 to 35.1	(Days/week): 5.5 to 1.8 (P < 0.001)	VRS: 5.0 to 3.2 (P = 0.002)	[40]
Mean 1 year after diagnosis at baseline	Community weight management 1 year after randomisation	43.7 to 43.1	(Days/week): 5.6 to 4.1 (P = 0.007)	VRS: 5.0 to 4.0 (P = 0.1)
Newly diagnosed	Routine clinical care 1Y follow-up study	35.5 to 31.8	Daily 86–43 %	VAS: 7.5 to 4.5	[41]