There are hundreds of weight-loss supplements like green tea extract, chitosan, guar gum and conjugated linoleic acid, and an estimated 34% of Americans who are trying to lose weight have used one.
In a new study from the University of North Carolina, researchers found although Americans spend billions on them, published research shows a lack of strong evidence that dietary supplements and alternative therapies help adults lose weight.
In the study, they completed a comprehensive review of 315 existing clinical trials of weight loss supplements and therapies, and most of the studies showed the supplements did not produce weight loss among users.
Researchers reviewed 315 published clinical trials. Results classified 52 studies as low risk of bias and sufficient to support efficacy.
Of these, 16 studies demonstrated significant effects in weight compared with placebos. In these studies, the weight loss ranged widely from 0.3 to 4.93 kg.
The team says that patients often struggle to lose or maintain weight either because of a lack of efficacy of existing Federal Drug Administration (FDA)-approved therapies or a lack of access to healthcare professionals who provide treatments for obesity.
Even though the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements has advanced the science of dietary supplements by evaluating information, it is important to evaluate and perform a qualitative synthesis of non-FDA therapies to provide scientific evidence.
They call on regulatory authorities to critically examine the dietary supplement industry, including their role in promoting misleading claims and marketing products that have the potential to harm patients.
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The study is published in Obesity. One author of the study is John Batsis, M.D.
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