Do not lose weight with dietary supplements!

The popularity of herbal and dietary supplements that help reduce excess weight is growing rapidly. In 2020, the global industry was estimated at 41 billion US dollars.

Researchers are calling for a deeper study of the long-term safety of dietary supplements. They found that those that resulted in negligible weight loss compared to placebo had adverse side effects. Every year, only 20% of new products are tested for compliance with the stated effects.

In some countries, the only requirement for dietary supplements to enter the market is that they contain acceptable levels of non-medicinal products. Unlike pharmaceutical preparations, dietary supplements do not require clinical evidence of their safety and effectiveness.

Australian researchers conducted a systematic review of all randomized trials published before August 2018 comparing the effects of herbal supplements and placebo on body weight. 54 studies involving 4,331 healthy overweight or obese adults aged 16 and older were analyzed. The loss of more than 2.5 kg of weight was considered clinically significant. Analyzed herbal supplements: green tea, garcinia cambogia, mangosteen, white beans, ephedra, African mango, yerba mate, veld grapes, licorice root and East Indian thistle.

The analysis showed that only one of them – white beans – led to a statistically, but not clinically significant weight loss of 1.61 kg.

Some combination preparations containing African mango, veld grapes, East Indian thistle and mangosteen showed good results, but were tested in three or fewer studies, often poorly organized and with poor statistical data processing. Therefore, the findings of these studies should be interpreted with caution.

The researchers also conducted a systematic review of 67 randomized trials published up to December 2019, which compared the effects of dietary supplements and placebo on body weight in 5,194 healthy overweight or obese adults aged 16 and older. Food additives included in the analysis: chitosan, glucomannan, fructans and conjugated linoleic acid.

The analysis showed that chitosan (-1.84 kg), glucomannan (-1.27 kg) and conjugated linoleic acid (-1.08 kg), as well as herbal supplements, lead to statistically, but not clinically significant weight loss compared to placebo.

Some dietary supplements, including modified cellulose and red orange extract, have shown good results, but have only been studied in one study and need additional evidence before they are recommended for weight loss.

The authors note that very few high-quality studies have been conducted and insufficient data on long-term effectiveness has been obtained.

The rapid growth in the production and popularity of dietary supplements underscores the need for more extensive and qualitative research to obtain evidence of their safety and effectiveness for weight loss.

A selection of media materials about two poster presentations by Erica Bessell at the European Congress on Obesity, which took place online this year, is published on the website of the European Association for the Study of Obesity.

Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru .