Slimming supplements under scrutiny

Bonnie - and there is every reasons for them to be under scrutiny. We have found maybe two or three safe substances that can mildly assist with weight reduction. However, without individualized dietary and lifestyle measures, almost all slimming supplements are a waste of money.

New research evaluating the effectiveness of a broad selection of popular slimming supplements sold in pharmacies and health food shops has found no evidence that any of them facilitate weight loss beyond the placebo effect, according to a study presented at the International Congress on Obesity.

Nine popular supplements were tested against placebo pills in a randomized controlled trial. The supplements tested included L-Carnitine, polyglucosamine, cabbage powder, guarana seed powder, bean extract, Konjac extract, fiber pills, sodium alginate formulations and selected plant extracts. The researchers bought the supplements from German pharmacies, changed the packaging and product names to make them look neutral and rewrote the information leaflet inserts to eliminate the product name from the text. They then gave consumers packages of either fake pills or of one of the nine supplements, each week for eight weeks, in doses recommended by the manufacturers. Some of the products came with dietary advice, while others didn't, so the researchers provided exactly the same advice as that written in the relevant product leaflets. Average weight loss was between 1 kg and 2 kg across seven of the products, depending on the supplement, and was 1.2 kg in the group getting the placebo pills. No statistically significant difference in weight loss was found for any of those products when compared with the placebo.