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Common dietary supplements for weight loss.

Robert B Saper1, David M Eisenberg, Russell S Phillips

  • 1Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

American Family Physician
|November 24, 2004
PubMed
Summary

No over-the-counter weight-loss supplements are currently recommended due to safety and efficacy concerns. Healthcare providers should discuss supplement use with patients, cautioning or discouraging use based on available evidence.

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Area of Science:

  • Dietary Supplements
  • Obesity Treatment
  • Evidence-Based Medicine

Background:

  • Many patients seek over-the-counter (OTC) dietary supplements for weight loss, often viewing them as a "magic bullet."
  • Understanding the evidence for efficacy, safety, and quality of these supplements is crucial for patient counseling.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To present a schema for physicians to categorize weight-loss supplements (recommend, caution, discourage).
  • To review the evidence for commonly used weight-loss supplements.

Main Methods:

  • Review of scientific literature on the efficacy and safety of over 50 individual and 125 combination weight-loss supplements.
  • Categorization of supplements based on evidence for weight loss and adverse effects.

Main Results:

  • Currently, no weight-loss supplements meet criteria for recommended use.
  • Ephedra-caffeine products, despite some evidence of modest weight loss, are banned due to serious adverse effects.
  • Chromium's efficacy and long-term safety are uncertain; guar gum and chitosan appear ineffective.
  • Evidence for conjugated linoleic acid, ginseng, glucomannan, green tea, hydroxycitric acid, L-carnitine, psyllium, pyruvate, and St. John's wort is insufficient or conflicting.

Conclusions:

  • Physicians should caution patients about using supplements with insufficient or conflicting evidence and monitor them closely.
  • Use of ineffective supplements like guar gum and chitosan should be discouraged.
  • Healthcare providers play a critical role in guiding patients on the appropriate use of weight-loss supplements.

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