Effects of homeopathy in reducing

weight, body fat mass and percent

body fat. A randomized, doubleLinda Kimcontrolled clinical trial
blind,Dr.
placebo
Dr. Pam Swan
Dr. Robert Waters
Michael Smith
Jennifer Orlowski

What is homeopathy?
Like

Cures Like
Law of Minimums
Stimulate bodys own healing process
Ie.

Ipecac

Effectiveness of Homeopathy
A meta-analysis

of placebo controlled
clinical trials demonstrated that
homeopathic effects are not due to
placebo alone, there was a 2.45 times
greater effect than placebo
Meta-analysis of 107 controlled trials
showed 76% of those studies were
effective

Obesity in Adults
Estimated

97 million adults in US are

overweight or obese
Overweight defined as BMI of 25 to
29.9 kg/m and obesity is a BMI of
greater than or equal to 30 kg/m

Risk of Obesity
Hypertension
Dyslipidemia
Type 2 Diabetes
Coronary heart disease
Stroke
Gallbladder disease
Osteoarthritis
Sleep apnea
Respiratory problems
Endometrial, breast, prostate, or colon cancer

What were the questions we

asked?
Does

homeopathy promote more

weight loss than placebo?
What is the short term efficacy of a
homeopathic weight loss product?

What did the treatment

address?
Reducing

food cravings
Respond to normal satiety
Improving metabolism
Controlling hypoglycemia
Mental/emotional issues
exercise

The product we used in the

study
Weight

Control manufactured by
Dolisos America Inc.

Homeopathics Included
Anacardium

orientale
Antimonium crudum
Calcarea carbonica
Graphites
Iodium
Nuv Vomica

Remedies and their roles in weight loss

Sx

Anacar
dium

Antimoni
um

Calcera

Graphite
s

Iodium

Nux
vomica

Curbing
Hunger

Improving
metabolis
m
Hypo glycemia

Over eating
mood

X
X

Craving
sugar

Craving
Fat

Methods
Recruited

people from Phoenix

metropolitan area
Initial screening was done by phone
using inclusion/exclusion criteria
Qualified 35 patient, 30 completed

Methods
Inclusion:
Male/female

21-45 y.o
BMI 30-39 kg/m
Confirmed menstrual period prior to
enrollment
Able to comply with study requirements:
informed consent, 2 office visits, follow up
monitoring, avoid other diet programs and
perform exercise program

Methods
Exclusion:
Pregnant,

lactating, or wanting to become

pregnant
Obesity of endocrine origin
History of bulimia or anorexia
History of alcohol or drug addiction

Methods
4 week trial
Take 1 tablet 4 times per day sublingual
Exercise 4 times per week
Wear pedometer daily
Fill out daily questioners
Weekly phone monitoring
Office visit 2 times

Methods: Office visit

Physical
BP,

exam:

pulse, respiration rate, temperature

Weight, height, body measurements hip
and waist
Metabolic testing with a Bod Pod {ADD
HERE}

Outcome Parameters

Body weight changes

BMI, lean body mass, fat mass, percent body fat
Body change measurements
Circumference of waist and hip
Hip/waist ratio
Metabolic testing
Respiratory exchange rate
Questionaires
VAS of hunger, satiety, thirst, mood [daily]
Pedometer log
Quality of Life Index SF-36, defecation pattern, satisfaction w/
intervention, compliance [2 times]
Hamilton Depression scale [2 times]

Results
Of

the 35 people enrolled 30 completed

the study, giving a 14% drop out rate
Screened 126 patients with 230 inquires

Body Measurement changes

These

were not significant between the

active group and the placebo group.
There weight decreases and body
measurement changes in active group
from baseline to end of treatment
This suggest a pattern of weight
reduction, but not a conclusive
difference

Exercise Compliance
There

was a significant change (p < .

05) noted with exercise compliance
between active and placebo
Patients in active group recorded more
exercise on average than placebo

Questionaires
These were significant (P < .05) The daily
questionaire asking about hunger, satiety,
thirst, mood and defecation should overall
improvement in active group as compared to
placebo
Results from SF 36 confirmed results
Improvements may have been attributed to
increase incidence of exercise in active group

Depressive Scale
No

conclusive change in scale and

patient compliance between placebo
and active group

Adverse Effects
None

were reported
The only complaint reported by some
patient was amount of time required to
dissolve pill

Conclusion
It was not conclusively shown that this
product promoted weight loss, however the
time interval may have been to short to draw
a significant conclusion
It was conclusively shown that the active
group did notice changes in quality of life
issues, suggesting that the product may be
effective at a longer interval

Future Studies
We

should do a 3 month study to

determine if weight loss would be
significant at a longer time interval.

Statistical Analysis
Each

body measurements were

analyzed using a mean, standard
deviation, t test and Wilcoxons signed
rank test. Confidence intervals of 95%
were utilized to detect statistical
significance