Evidence map›Paper›PMID 20939120›Full record

ArticleWorld journal of gastroenterology2010

Science of weight loss supplements: compromised by conflicts of interest?

Ano Lobb

Abstract readLetterComment
In one paragraph

Article in World journal of gastroenterology, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Science in liquid dietary supplement promotion: the misleading case of mangosteen juice.Hawai'i journal of medicine & public health : a journal of Asia Pacific Medicine & Public Health · 2012
    Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author.

Ano Lobb

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Weight loss supplements often contain powerful pharmacoactive ingredients with the potential to cause harm. Trials used to determine product safety and effectiveness, meanwhile, tend to be small, of short duration, and frequently lack financial conflict of interest disclosures. These factors could conspire to place consumers at risk, especially when published research cited in advertising cloaks products with the suggestion that their safety and effectiveness have been proven by science. Examples of current and former weight loss products backed by potentially conflicted or low quality research include Metabolife-356, Hydroxycut, Xenadrine and LeptiCore. Published research, especially in the field of weight loss supplements, needs better conflict of interest disclosure, and regulators should consider how research findings are used in marketing claims.

Indexed as

Conflict of InterestDietary SupplementsAdvertisingClinical Trials as TopicDisclosureEthics, ResearchHumansMarketingResearchResearch DesignWeight Loss

Identifiers

PMID20939120
PMCPMC2955261

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.