Applied nutritional investigationChromium picolinate supplementation in women: effects on body weight, composition, and iron status
Introduction
Rapidly increasing rates of overweight and obesity in the United States [1] have prompted individuals to seek weight-control products that are safe, convenient, and effective in promoting weight and fat loss and preserve muscle. The public seeks these products, principally dietary supplements [2], [3], because they are perceived as less demanding to use than accepted lifestyle changes, diet, and physical activity in facilitating weight reduction or regulation [4]. Results from multistate and national surveys indicate that use of over-the-counter weight loss supplements is high (∼10%), with the greatest use among young obese women [5], [6].
Different dietary supplements are marketed for weight regulation including vitamins, minerals, and herbal and botanical compounds. Reviews of efficacy and safety of over-the-counter dietary supplements emphasize inconsistent evidence to support claims of weight reduction [2], [3], [4]. A popular dietary supplement marketed for weight regulation is trivalent chromium, specifically chromium picolinate [7]. Although other chromium-containing supplements are available, chromium picolinate is emphasized because of its high bioavailability and lack of toxicity [8]. Early reports that adults supplemented with chromium picolinate lost weight and body fat have not been confirmed [8], [9]. Differences in experimental designs, including uncontrolled food and nutrient intakes and insensitive methods of assessment of body composition, complicate interpretation of the findings.
Chromium picolinate supplements may not be innocuous. Because chromium inhibits iron binding to transferrin [10], [11], large intakes of chromium can impair iron transport and utilization [12]. In addition, picolinic acid is a potent metal-binding ligand with strong capacity to bind iron and other essential mineral elements [13]. Evidence of adverse effects of chromium picolinate supplementation on iron status of humans is contradictory [14], [15].
This study examined the effects of chromium picolinate supplementation on body weight and composition and on blood biochemical indicators of iron nutritional status in women fed constant energy and nutrient composition diets. It tested the hypothesis that chromium supplementation decreases body weight, fat mass, measurements of iron status in women.
Section snippets
Subjects
Eighty-three premenopausal women, 19 to 50 y of age with a body mass index range of 18 to 30 kg/m2, completed all aspects of the study. Each volunteer completed a health questionnaire and had an interview with a nurse, screening blood assessment of health, urinalysis, measurement of body weight and standing height, and blood pressure to determine absence of anemia and no underlying health concerns. This study was approved by the University of North Dakota institutional review board and the U.S.
Compliance
The volunteers consumed all capsules provided at breakfast at the center. They reported ingestion of all capsules provided for consumption away from the center.
Anthropometry and body composition
Age of the women at entry into the study was not different (33.0 ± 1.8, 30.7 ± 1.7, and 30.2 ± 1.5 y in the placebo, chromium picolinate, and picolinate supplemented groups, respectively). Similarly, the standing height was similar across groups (162.7 ± 1.0, 166.2 ± 1.0, and 165.7 ± 1.0 cm in the placebo, chromium picolinate, and
Discussion
Chromium is provisionally considered to be a nutrient because of its putative roles in carbohydrate, protein, and lipid metabolism [25]; evidence indicates that chromium apparently facilitates the action of insulin [26]. Thus, chromium supplementation has been postulated to selectively decrease body fat and increase muscle or lean body mass [27]. Research to test this hypothesis has predominantly used chromium picolinate because it is better absorbed than other chemical forms of chromium and
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the women who committed to meet the requirements of this study, S. K. Gallagher who supervised biochemical and mineral analyses, and Nutrition-21, which provided the supplements at no cost.
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