29
Weight Loss Supplements Considered Potentially Unsafe
by the FDA
Intervention Side Effects Mechanism of Action
Sibutramine
b
Headache,
anxiety, dry
mouth, insomnia,
myocardial infarction
and stroke
Monoamine reuptake
inhibitor, increasing
norepinephrine,
serotonin and
dopamine
concentrations in
the synaptic clefts
and suppressing
hunger. Sibutramine
was removed
f rom the market
as an anti-obesity
pharmaceutical in
2010.
a
Potentially unsafe when synephrine content is higher than recommended daily limits, and when
combined with caffeine or unsafe and undeclared synthetic ingredients.
b
Some herbal "weight loss pills" are banned by the FDA due to sibutramine as an active component.
e results of a clinical trial demonstrated prescription sibutramine increased myocardial infarction
and stroke. Despite FDA warnings of the dangers of sibutramine, sibutramine can still be found as a
"hidden ingredient" in weight loss supplements.
Weight Loss Therapies with Mandated Disclaimer by the
FDA
Intervention
Proposed
Mechanism
of Action Effects Warnings
HCG Marketed
as reducing
appetite and
preserving muscle
mass during
administration of
very low calorie
diet.
Meta-analyses
do not support
clinically
significant weight
loss. Since 1976, the
FDA has mandated
a disclaimer
for those who
administer HCG.
a
In 2016, the
American
Medical
Association
passed policy
that "The use
of HCG for
weight loss is
inappropriate."
a
1976 FDA disclaimer for HCG: "ere is no substantial evidence that HCG increases weight loss
beyond that resulting om caloric restriction, that it causes a more attractive or normal distribution of
fat, or that it decreases the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie restrictive diets."
(cont'd)
