A Systematic Review of Dietary Supplements and Alternative Therapies for Weight Loss

John A Batsis^{1

2}, John W Apolzan³, Pamela J Bagley⁴, Heather B Blunt⁴, Vidita Divan⁵, Sonia Gill⁶, Angela Golden⁷, Shalini Gundumraj⁸, Steven B Heymsfield³, Scott Kahan⁹, Katherine Kopatsis¹⁰, Ava Port¹¹, Elizabeth Prout Parks^{12

13}, Clifford A Reilly¹⁴, Domenica Rubino¹⁵, Katherine H Saunders¹⁶, Ryan Shean⁴, Luai Tabaza¹⁷, Abishek Stanley³, Beverly G Tchang¹⁶, Shivani Gundumraj¹⁸, Srividya Kidambi¹⁹

Affiliations

¹ Division of Geriatric Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
² Department of Nutrition, The Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
³ Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University Sysytem, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Libraries, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.
⁵ Stormont Vail Health, Topeka, Kansas, USA.
⁶ University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, Sacramento, California, USA.
⁷ NP Obesity Treatment Clinic, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA.
⁸ Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA.
⁹ National Center for Weight and Wellness, George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Washington, DC, USA.
¹⁰ George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
¹¹ Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
¹² Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
¹³ The Healthy Weight Program, Perelman Medical Center, University of Pennsylvania, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
¹⁴ The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at The University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA.
¹⁵ Washington Center for Weight Management and Research, Arlington, Virginia, USA.
¹⁶ Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Weill Cornell Medicine, Comprehensive Weight Control Center, New York, New York, USA.
¹⁷ Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
¹⁸ A.T, Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona, Mesa, Arizona, USA.
¹⁹ Division of Endocrinology and Molecular Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.

PMID: 34159755
PMCID: PMC8231729
DOI: 10.1002/oby.23110

A Systematic Review of Dietary Supplements and Alternative Therapies for Weight Loss

John A Batsis et al. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2021 Jul.

. 2021 Jul;29(7):1102-1113.

doi: 10.1002/oby.23110.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Division of Geriatric Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
² Department of Nutrition, The Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
³ Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University Sysytem, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Libraries, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.
⁵ Stormont Vail Health, Topeka, Kansas, USA.
⁶ University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, Sacramento, California, USA.
⁷ NP Obesity Treatment Clinic, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA.
⁸ Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA.
⁹ National Center for Weight and Wellness, George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Washington, DC, USA.
¹⁰ George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
¹¹ Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
¹² Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
¹³ The Healthy Weight Program, Perelman Medical Center, University of Pennsylvania, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
¹⁴ The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at The University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA.
¹⁵ Washington Center for Weight Management and Research, Arlington, Virginia, USA.
¹⁶ Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Weill Cornell Medicine, Comprehensive Weight Control Center, New York, New York, USA.
¹⁷ Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
¹⁸ A.T, Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona, Mesa, Arizona, USA.
¹⁹ Division of Endocrinology and Molecular Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.

PMID: 34159755
PMCID: PMC8231729
DOI: 10.1002/oby.23110

Abstract

Objective: Dietary supplements and alternative therapies are commercialized as a panacea for obesity/weight gain as a result of the minimal regulatory requirements in demonstrating efficacy. These products may indirectly undermine the value of guideline-driven obesity treatments. Included in this study is a systematic review of the literature of purported dietary supplements and alternative therapies for weight loss.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of dietary supplements and alternative therapies for weight loss in participants aged ≥18 years. Searches of Medline (PubMed), Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Embase (Ovid) were conducted. Risk of bias and results were summarized qualitatively.

Results: Of the 20,504 citations retrieved in the database search, 1,743 full-text articles were reviewed, 315 of which were randomized controlled trials evaluating the efficacy of 14 purported dietary supplements, therapies, or a combination thereof. Risk of bias and sufficiency of data varied widely. Few studies (n = 52 [16.5%]) were classified as low risk and sufficient to support efficacy. Of these, only 16 (31%) noted significant pre/post intergroup differences in weight (range: 0.3-4.93 kg).

Conclusions: Dietary supplements and alternative therapies for weight loss have a limited high-quality evidence base of efficacy. Practitioners and patients should be aware of the scientific evidence of claims before recommending use.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest pertaining to this manuscript

Figures

**Figure 1:**
Participant Flow Diagram for Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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A Systematic Review of Dietary Supplements and Alternative Therapies for Weight Loss

Affiliations

A Systematic Review of Dietary Supplements and Alternative Therapies for Weight Loss

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical