Expert shares warning on weight loss supplement red flags to be wary of
A recent study estimates that a whopping 1.5 million people in the UK are using so-called ‘skinny jabs’, such as Mounjaro and Wegovy.
But weight-loss medication doesn’t just come in injection form. Diet capsules, shakes, and teas all fall under the ‘weight management supplement’ umbrella.
And while scientists suggest that some these drugs have serious health benefits, such as reducing the risk of conditions like heart attacks and strokes, a lot of their promises are often ‘stretched’, according to a Which? expert.
This may mean you need to do some serious ingredient research online before pulling the trigger on certain supplements.
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Because, let’s be honest: nobody wants to be conned into purchasing something that won't live up to claims, right?
Megan Thomas, a researcher for consumer advocacy group Which?, recently appeared on an episode of the company’s Healthy Living podcast to discuss her weight-loss supplement red flags.
She began by explaining that there are ‘very specific approved weight loss claims that a product could make based on very specific ingredients because it's a health claim’.
“You can't just say things willy-nilly.
“But, when we're looking at these products, we're hearing things like: it's a fat burner; it's an appetite suppressant, and then you look at the ingredients list and you are not really seeing any justification for that.”
She continued: “That is definitely more so on the online marketplaces because it's so hard to control.”
Thomas revealed we have to be vigilant when buying into weight-loss drugs, claiming that many major retailers tend to ‘stretch out’ claims.
For example, an ingredient that contributes to normal metabolism could be ‘stretched out’ to say that it can help with weight loss.
"Some of the most egregious are just completely absurd and I think at least will be helpful, easy to spot, by consumers,” she stated.
Some examples to watch out for include: 'Burns fat in five seconds' and 'Within a week you'll have lost centimetres off your waistline'.
Other weight-loss supplement red flags to be wary of are appetite suppressers and controllers.
Thomas told the Which? podcast that a lot of these vows aren’t actually backed up by science.
Moreover, you should think twice before buying medications which include green tea as a main ingredient.
This is because some companies hail it as a miracle ‘fat burner’, which isn’t wholly accurate.
Green tea contains the powerful antioxidant catechin and caffeine, a natural stimulate that affects the central nervous system.
A study suggests that the pair may help promote weight-loss by increasing the number of calories you burn on a daily basis by fat oxidation, metabolism, and thermogenesis, the production of heat.
“Caffeine – which is found in green tea – in relatively high doses has, in some circumstances, been shown to increase fat oxidation,” Bethan Crouse, a performance nutritionist from Loughborough University told The Guardian.
However, she added: “It’s a very small amount, and the research isn’t great – it’s definitely not something that you’d recommend relying on if somebody is trying to change their body composition.”
Sophie Medlin, a consultant dietitian, told SomersetLive that it's important to remember that there are no registered health claims when it comes to weight-loss supplements designed to mimic licensed GLP-1 medications, such as Wegovy and Mounjaro.
“Other companies are now looking at [GLP-1s] and thinking, ‘Oh, we need a supplement alternative to this that's cheaper’.
"And so the market's now flooded with… supplements that are pretending to be mimicking GLP ones.”
Anything that hasn’t been approved and signed off as a weight-loss method by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and/or the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the United Kingdom, and is boasting weight-loss claims, can be reported to The Advertising Standards Authority for false advertising, Medlin added.
The full Which? podcast, featuring Megan Thomas, can be heard in full here.
Ella Scott