09.20.05:Conjugated Linoleic Acid and Weight Loss

Health, September 2005

by Eric Steinmehl

Dropping a dress size, and keeping the weight off, might be easier than you think.

If scientists ever invent a pill that can help women get slimmer without hurting, we’re ready to buy a lifetime supply. That’s why we were enthused when a well-known supplement got real results in a recent study out of Norway. Over-weight people who took 3.5 grams of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) every day for 2 years lost up to 4 pounds the first year (placebo users didn’t lose any weight) and never regained it during the second year. Changes in the testers’ bodies were especially intriguing. While eating whatever they wanted and not exercising regularly, they lost 7 to 9 percent of their body fat but saw their lean body mass—muscle, that is—rise 1 to 2 percent. In other words, they got slimmer and stronger.

Full article at health.com