Dietary supplements in weight reduction: efficacy and safety

Czech version

Authors: Daniela Mináriková ¹; Peter Minárik ^2,3; Ubomíra Fábryová ^2,3,4,5
Authors‘ workplace: Katedra organizácie a riadenia farmácie, Farmaceutická fakulta UK v Bratislave ¹; Biomedicínske centrum SAV, v. v. i, Bratislava ²; Vysoká škola zdravotníctva a sociálnej práce sv. Alžbety, n. o, Bratislava ³; Fyziologická a klinická výživa, Fakulta ošetrovateľstva a zdravotníckych odborných štúdií SZU v Bratislave ⁴; MetabolKLINIK sro, Ambulancia pre diabetológiu, poruchy látkovej premeny a výživy, MEDPED centrum, Bratislava ⁵
Published in: Forum Diab 2025; 14(1): 29-36
Category: Review Article

Overview

The rise of obesity and the difficulties in its treatment, people’s motivation and desire to reduce and control weight, and intensive marketing, have created a favorable climate for finding and using different ways to achieve and maintain a desirable body weight. In particular, dietary supplements, presented as weight-loss products, have gained a great deal of favor with consumers, often on the basis of their easy availability and simplistic interpretation of the beneficial effects of the substances they contain. In clinical practice and for practitioners, there remains a lack of robust randomized, placebo-controlled trials that provide clear scientific evidence on the efficacy and safety of these products. Despite intensive and even promising research on biologically active substances in dietary supplements, insufficient and equivocal evidence does not allow their inclusion in standard recommendations for the comprehensive management of overweight and obesity in clinical practice. Both professionals and the public should clearly perceive the difference between EBM (Evidence-Based Medicine) validated pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for weight reduction and the use of dietary supplements. This article presents a summary of the findings of published reviews addressing the efficacy and safety of dietary supplements in weight reduction.

Keywords:

obesity – Safety – efficacy – body weight reduction – dietary supplements for weight loss

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