Weight loss pills: What is important?

Losing weight is quite tedious, as anyone who struggles with extra pounds knows. The advertising promises sound tempting: Take a pill with every meal and no matter what you eat, you lose weight! But do the products keep their promises? To say it straight up: Not a single product meets the requirement of one major obesity organization on slimming products, namely to lose five percent in six months with the products and to maintain that weight loss for at least six more months. In addition, the study setup invoked by the advertising is very poor and the study periods too short.

Today we discuss fat blockers.

Various tablets and pills arranged on a spoon

Fat blockers

Fat blockers are used to bind and excrete fats from food. The active ingredients of the various products originate from prickly pears or crustacean shells. The products are taken at or after meals with plenty of liquid. The dietary fats are supposed to be bound and excreted naturally.

Many of the major fat blocking products contain the same active ingredient from the prickly pear (e.g. Litramine). Another major fat blocker's active ingredient is derived from crustacean shells. One study with products using crustacean shells show that with an unchanged diet that includes fat blockers, it is possible to lose a small amount of weight, on average one kilo (2.2 pounds) in three months. However, the trial in this study only lasted half a year. No other usable studies exist for the other products. In the case of fat blockers it should be remembered that allergic reactions, such as to shellfish, can occur. Fat blockers can also interfere with the effect of fat-soluble drugs such as birth control pills.

Conclusion

Although fat blockers may achieve a slight weight loss, they are not suitable as the sole method of effective weight loss. If you want to lose weight permanently, you cannot avoid a change in diet and regular exercise.

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