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  • Letter to the Editor
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Response to Dr Inchiosa

International Journal of Obesity volume 31, pages 1482–1483 (2007)Cite this article

Our opportunity to respond to the letter by Inchiosa allows us to expand upon and update a number of important points that were not fully addressed in our paper ‘Multinutrient supplement containing ephedra and caffeine causes weight loss and improves metabolic risk factors in obese women: a randomized controlled trial’.1 Inchiosa correctly points out that our study tested the effect of a high-potency mixture of vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids and botanical extracts including ephedra and caffeine, against a control formula containing 100% of the Daily Value of vitamins and minerals. This is indeed a controlled study design that has been used in numerous other studies assessing ephedra and caffeine, and our title, introduction and conclusions very carefully note the multinutrient formula that was tested, rather than drawing conclusions regarding only the effects of ephedra and caffeine.

We believe that it is unlikely that a Garcinia cambogia extract containing (−)-hydroxycitric acid (HCA) could have accounted for approximately 60% of the weight loss noted in our results. While a few studies suggest that HCA can reduce food intake or promote weight loss,2 a number of other studies have produced negative results.3, 4, 5 One of us (PJH) has recently completed a double-blind, placebo-controlled study in overweight/obese men and women, administering HCA (2700 mg/day) plus chromium polynicotinate (400 μg/day) for 12 weeks. No differences were measured in appetite, energy intake, body weight or body composition (personal communication), suggesting a minimal contribution of HCA, if any, to the body weight and body fat loss reported in the current study.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, CA, USA

    R M Hackman, P J Havel, J S Stern & C L Keen

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA

    H J Schwartz, J C Rutledge, J S Stern & C L Keen

  3. Department of Pharmacy Science, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA

    S J Stohs

Authors
  1. R M Hackman
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  2. P J Havel
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  3. H J Schwartz
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  4. J C Rutledge
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  5. S J Stohs
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  6. J S Stern
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  7. C L Keen
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Correspondence to R M Hackman.

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Hackman, R., Havel, P., Schwartz, H. et al. Response to Dr Inchiosa. Int J Obes 31, 1482–1483 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803627

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