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Title: AVAILABILITY OF WEIGHT LOSS SUPPLEMENTS: RESULTS OF AN AUDIT OF RETAIL OUTLETS IN A SOUTHEASTERN CITY

Author
item SHARPE, PATRICIA - UNIV OF SC
item GRANNER, MICHELLE - UNIV OF NEVADA
item CONWAY, JOAN
item AINSWORTH, BARBARA - SAN DIEGO STATE UNIV
item DOBRE, MIRELA - SO CAROLINA HEALTH DEPT

Submitted to: Journal Of The American Dietetic Association
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/18/2006
Publication Date: 12/12/2006
Citation: Sharpe, P.A., Granner, M.L., Conway, J.M., Ainsworth, B.A., Dobre, M. Availability of weight loss supplements: results of an audit of retail outlets in a southeastern city. Journal Of The American Dietetic Association. 106:2045-2051. 2006.

Interpretive Summary: The sale of non-prescription weight loss products accounts for millions of dollars spent by Americans trying to lose weight, yet there is little evidence for effectiveness and multiple safety concerns. The purpose of this study was to determine what products and ingredients within products were available at retail outlets in a metropolitan area. The audit identified 402 products containing 4053 separate ingredients. The mean number of ingredients per product was 9.9 (Standard deviation =8.96, range=1-96). A database search was conducted to determine the evidence for effectiveness as well as safety precautions and side effects for the 10 ingredients that appeared most often across products. Modest evidence of effectiveness exists for green tea, chromium picolinate, and ma huang (ephedra). For the remaining seven (ginger root, guarana, hydroxycitric acid (garcinia cambogia), salix alba (white willow), and Siberian ginseng, cayenne and bitter orange (zhi shi), inadequate or negative evidence exists. While precautions and contraindications were found for all 10 ingredients, the strongest concerns in the literature appear for ephedra, bitter orange, and guarana. Nutrition professionals should assess supplement use and discuss safety concerns with clients. This information will prove useful to government agencies and health care professionals.

Technical Abstract: The sale of non-prescription weight loss products accounts for millions of dollars spent by Americans trying to lose weight, yet there is little evidence for effectiveness and multiple safety concerns. The purpose of this study was to determine what products and ingredients within products were available at retail outlets in a metropolitan area. A purposive sampling strategy identified 73 retail outlets. An audit form was used to collect information from products labels. The audit identified 402 products containing 4053 separate ingredients. The mean number of ingredients per product was 9.9 (Standard Deviation=8.96, range=1-96). A database search was conducted to determine the evidence for effectiveness as well as safety precautions and side effects for the 10 ingredients that appeared most often across products. Modest evidence of effectiveness exists for green tea, chromium picolinate, and ma huang (ephedra). For the remaining seven (ginger root, guarana, hydroxycitric acid (garcinia cambogia), salix alba (white willow), and Siberian ginseng, cayenne and bitter orange (zhi shi), inadequate or negative evidence exists. While precautions and contraindications were found for all 10 ingredients, the strongest concerns in the literature appear for ephedra, bitter orange, and guarana. Nutrition professionals should assess supplement use and discuss safety concerns with clients.