Tuesday, July 13, 2010
FOOD supplements designed to speed up weight loss do not work, experts said yesterday.
A range of supplements — including those based on cabbage, fibre and plant extracts — are no better than "fake" dummy pills in helping people slim, they said.
Presenting their findings, which have yet to be peer-reviewed, experts from the Peninsula Medical School at the universities of Exeter and Plymouth said there is no evidence the drugs work.
In a separate study, German researchers also found no evidence that supplements aid weight loss.
The UK team reviewed existing data, including on guar gum, bitter orange, calcium, glucomannan (a dietary fibre), chitosan (listed as a fat absorber), chromium picolinate (sometimes sold as an appetite suppressant) and green tea.
Presenting their findings at the International Conference on Obesity in Stockholm, they wrote: "The findings from systematic reviews fail to provide sufficient evidence that any food supplement can be recommended for reducing body weight."
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