Slim pickings for weight-loss supplement users, say experts

A range of supplements – including those based on cabbage, fibre and plant extracts – are no better than dummy pills in helping people to slim.

Experts from the Peninsula Medical School at the universities of Exeter and Plymouth said there was 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.

They presented their findings at the International Conference on Obesity in Stockholm yesterday.

Experts at the University of Gottingen in Germany carried out an eight-week trial on nine common weight loss supplements.

While people taking the supplements did lose weight, they did not lose any more than people taking a fake pill.