Commercial products and programmes in obesity management
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7196/SAMJ.2025.v115i9b.3702Keywords:
Commercial, Products, Over the counter, Obesity, Guideline, South AfricaAbstract
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. For adults living with overweight or obesity, some commercial programmes exist that should achieve mild-to-moderate weight loss over the short or medium term, and a mild reduction in glycated haemoglobin values over a short term in adults with type 2 diabetes compared with usual care or education.
2. We do not recommend the use of over-the-counter commercial weight loss products for obesity management, owing to lack of evidence (Level 4, Grade D).
3. We do not suggest that commercial weight loss programmes be used for improvement in blood pressure and lipid control in adults living with obesity (Level 4, Grade D).
References
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2. GudzuneKA,DoshiRS,MehtaAK,etal.Efficacyofcommercialweight-lossprograms:Anupdated systematic review. Ann Intern Med 2015;162(7):501-512. https://doi.org/10.7326/m14-2238
3. O’Neil PM, Miller-Kovach K, Tuerk PW, et al. Randomised controlled trial of a nationally available weight control program tailored for adults with type 2 diabetes. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2016;24(11):2269-2277. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.21616
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5. Mehta AK, Doshi RS, Chaudhry ZW, et al. Benefits of commercial weight-loss programs on blood pressure and lipids: A systematic review. Prev Med 2016;90:86-99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. ypmed.2016.06.028
6. Rose F, Henry M. The principles of nutrition, with diets and menus for reducing and gaining. In: Fishbein M, ed. Your Weight and How to Control It: A Scientific Guide by Medical Specialists and Dieticians. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran & Company, 1929:23-260.
7. Geller AI, Shebab N, Weidle NJ, et al. Emergency department visits for adverse events related to dietary supplements. N Engl J Med 2015;374(16):1531-1540. https://doi.org/10.1056/ NEJMsa1504267
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Copyright (c) 2025 Z Bayat, S A Bhana, M Conradie-Smit, W May
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