Weight-Loss Supplements, Buyer Beware

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Weight-Loss Supplements, Buyer Beware

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According to a 2004 review in American Family Physician, Americans spent

more than $1.3 billion on weight-loss supplements in 2001. Advertisements for

weight-loss supplements seem to be everywhere — television infomercials, popular

magazines, even your e-mail inbox. " Eat the foods you love and still lose

weight " and " Exercise in a bottle " are among the marketing ploys that sound too

good to be true. And, for the most part, they are.

Take a look at the fine print on these products for the disclaimer that

none of their statements have been verified by the FDA, which is responsible for

ensuring the safety of all foods and medications on the market. In the case of

medications, the FDA is responsible for testing effectiveness. For example, a

cold medicine that claims to relieve nasal congestion must be proven to do so.

However, weight-loss aids fall into a gray area in FDA regulation.

Weight-loss aids are neither foods nor drugs; rather, they are classed as

dietary supplements. Congress created the category of dietary supplements under

the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, in response to public

pressure to loosen the FDA's tight control over a variety of products. As a

result, individual nutrients, herbs, and " phytomedicinals " (plants supposed to

have medicinal value) can be sold without being tested for effectiveness or

safety, so long as they do not make direct health or therapeutic claims. Within

these limits, manufacturers cannot say that their weight-loss aids will cure

obesity or make you lose weight, but they can make indirect claims — and this

has led to a wide array of unfounded assertions on labels and in advertisements.

Some manufacturers of dietary supplements have been fined for false

advertising. In 2006, the Federal Trade Commission ordered sellers making

questionable weight-loss claims for skin gels and diet supplements to pay $3

million to settle fraud charges under federal law. For example, the skin gel ads

claimed the gels would melt away fat wherever applied — on a user's thighs,

tummy, and even double chin.

But the FDA cannot take a product off the market unless it is found to be

unsafe. Because the agency cannot test every one of the thousand supplements on

the market, most face no danger of being removed.

In 2004, however, the FDA banned the sale of ephedra (Ma huang in Chinese)

after the compound was linked to a number of deaths and very serious side

effects, including heart attacks, strokes, and seizures. In 2001, ephedra

products comprised fewer than 1% of all dietary supplement sales, yet they were

responsible for 64% of all herb-related complications reported to the U.S.

Poison Control Centers during the same year. Despite the fact that

ephedra-containing supplements are the only dietary supplements shown to help

people lose weight (at least for up to six months), the potential risks far

outweigh the benefits.

Despite the ban on ephedra itself, supplements containing ephedra-like

compounds (which include ephedrine, norephedrine, and methylephedrine) are

widely available over the Internet and in stores. They are often found in

combination with caffeine or plant sources of caffeine, such as guarana and

yerba mate, in weight-loss supplements. Note that two other ingredients found in

some supplements, bitter orange and country mallow, contain chemicals related to

ephedra and should also be avoided.

You should also steer clear of chitosan and guar gum, two more compounds found

in weight-loss supplements. That's not because of any evidence that they are

unsafe, but rather because studies show they don't help people lose weight. The

FDA has also deemed spirulina (blue-green algae) ineffective for weight loss,

and no information about its safety is available.

What about the approximately 50 other different substances found in

weight-loss supplements? The evidence as to whether they work is unclear,

because study results are either insufficient or conflicting. And although some

of them appear to be safe, others have unknown safety profiles. As a result, the

authors of the American Family Physician study (all doctors at Harvard Medical

School) say that people should be cautious about using any of these supplements.

Advice on Ingredients of Weight Loss Supplements summarize their advice on

common weight-loss supplements. You should let your doctor know if you choose to

take one, and alert him or her immediately if you experience any side effects.

From the Harvard Health Publications Special Health Report, Weigh Less,

Live Longer: Strategies for Successful Weight Loss. Copyright 2001 by the

President and Fellows of Harvard College. Illustrations by Whitney Sherman,

Harriet Greenfield, M.A., and Avishai. All rights reserved. Written

permission is required to reproduce, in any manner, in whole or in part, the

material contained herein. To make a reprint request, contact Harvard Health

Publications. Used with permission of StayWell.

Use of Content | Disclaimer | Last Full Review March 2001

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