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Keywords
Diet, Nutrition, Food and drink, Pharmaceutical products
Abstract
A consumer survey was undertaken to test the efficacy of Zotrim, a herbal preparation commercially available as an over the counter weight loss aid. A total of 48 subjects completed a 28-day trial of Zotrim, taken in tablet form just prior to main meals. The results showed a self-assessed average weight loss of 2.3kg (0.6kg per week). Questionnaire data suggested that subjects ate less at meals and snacked less frequently. The overall findings supported an earlier placebo controlled clinical trial, and provided additional evidence that Zotrim delays gastric emptying and enhances feelings of fullness.
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Introduction
A token search of the Internet reveals a large selection of products which claim to facilitate the process of weight loss. Few are accompanied with appropriate scientific evidence. The desperation of many overweight people can make them particularly receptive to "quick fixes" such as pills, potions and even creams which appear to offer the desired results without the effort of changing one's diet or lifestyle. As the critical focus on the weight loss industry sharpens, the more reputable companies are attempting to distance themselves from the rest by funding research into the efficacy of their products. Such a case study is described here.
Zotrim is a herbal food supplement, available in tablet form and based on pioneering work by Danish physician, Dr Lasse Hessel. It contains active ingredients as extracts of the South American herbs Yerba maté (leaves of Ilex paraguayensis), Guarana (seeds of Paullinia cupana) and Damiana (leaves of Tumera diffusa var. aphrodisiaca. An earlier clinical trial (Andersen and Fogh, 2001) found that 24 healthy overweight subjects who were given the Zotrim formulation three times per day before meals sustained a mean weight loss of 5.1kg after 45 days. The 23 subjects who were given the placebo showed a mean weight loss of only 0.3kg. Neither group received dietary advice. A follow-up of 22 subjects in the Zotrim group after an additional 12 months of treatment revealed that the initial weight loss was maintained. Mean weight at the start of the follow-up...