The obesity epidemic has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the top 10 global health problems. Worldwide, more than one billion adults are overweight and over 300 million are obese. So the reasons for necessary measures to correct the problem are evident. Okay, I know what you’re saying: “I’m not obese! What do I care?” Well, whether you’re a 400 pounder trying to avoid you’re third coronary or just want to shed that winter coat for a summer at the beach, the contents of this article are directly applicable to you.

So why do we need drugs to help us lose weight? They’re not natural. Diet and exercise is all you need, right? First of all, opium is natural while aspirin isn’t, so lets dismiss this whole ‘natural is good’ line of thought immediately. Second, for some, genetic predisposition and previous dietary/exercise habits might make attaining a reasonable weight extremely difficult or nearly impossible. For these individuals, losing weight relatively quickly with the help of a drug would be so beneficial to their overall health, that the potential side-effects of the drug are a moot point. And what about the guy/girl who just wants to lose a few pounds for the summer? Provided the pharmaceutical (I’m including supplements in this category since I really don’t see a difference) approach is relatively safe and they did their homework first, all the power to them. If we don’t criticize someone for slamming back a 12-pack on a Saturday night, how hypocritical would we be to criticize them for supplement use?

Now, before I start talking about supplements and ingredients I’d like to mention the problem of evaluating the safety and effectiveness of certain supplements. There is a lot of conflicting scientific literature regarding both the efficacy and safety of many of the current weightloss agents. I’d like to start off by saying that the evaluation of supplements is fraught with bias and conflict of interest. Some scientists stand to profit from the sale of a dietary supplement while others stand to lose. For example, pharmaceutical companies may view supplements as stealing market share. Physicians may see alternative medicine as a partial threat to their income or authority. The media may be looking for tomorrow’s big headline. What better than “new dietary supplement kills users?” I’m not saying we should omit all scientific literature. I’m just saying we should view what we read with an open mind and a willingness to think critically and be sceptical.

Fat-accumulation occurs when energy intake exceeds energy output. I really can’t stress this enough. People often get caught up in the science of weightloss and omit this necessary equation. Now, I know someone is going to bitch me out saying that 100 calories of protein is not the same as 100 calories of table sugar (and they’d be right), but I’ll argue that the above statement is accurate to the point that it should be the basis of any weightloss strategy. Now, let’s evaluate this a little more. Getting fat depends on two things: 1) how much energy you consume and 2) how much energy you burn. So, to lose weight, you have to target one or both of these things. Increasing the amount of energy you burn can be accomplished by increasing exercise or through the use of dietary supplements (such as thermogenics). Decreasing the amount of energy you consume is obvious. If you eat less you lose weight, right? You can even get supplements to help curb those sugar cravings. The problem is that sometimes (in decreasing your energy intake), you concurrently decrease your energy expenditure by screwing with endogenous hormone levels. This is where supplements can really be helpful to keep your body in a fat-burning state even when it thinks it’s starving.