Any product that promises to help you lose unwanted pounds while also dropping your blood pressure, clearing your skin, stabilizing your blood sugar, and elevating your mood sounds like a great thing. Companies marketing weight loss patches have their own test results supporting these claims, as well as loads of personal testimonies attributing major health benefits to patch use. And considering that two out of three Americans adults are overweight or
obese
, effective weight loss strategies are certainly needed. But is there impartial scientific muscle to back these claims?
A wide variety of skin, or transdermal, weight and fat loss patch products are available for purchase. Some focus on dropping pounds overall by “resetting your body chemistry;” others are designed to shed fat by “revving up your fat-burning furnace.” In their marketing, the patches are said to influence the body’s metabolism by altering the hormones involved in weight management, such as insulin, leptin, and thyroid hormones, along with other hormones such as estrogen, cortisol, and serotonin. All patches contain a collection of ingredients, mainly herbal, that enter the body through the skin. A sampling of available patches offer combinations of the following ingredients:
- coleus forskohlii (forskolin), fucus vesiculosus (seaweed), garcinia cambogia, guarana, chromium picolinate, yerba mate, 5-HTP, zinc pyruvate, DHEA, yerba mate, Lecithin, L-carnitine, green tea, and others
Patches are usually worn on a hairless, lean part of the body like the shoulder, wrist or ankle. A new patch is applied daily. Skin patches are designed to provide even dosing over a 24-hour period.
Go from ‘Blah’ to ‘Aahh’??
The skin patches claim to act in two basic ways: by boosting metabolism and reducing appetite. Some ingredients claim to rev up the metabolism; others put a curb on appetite and cravings. Many patches promise other benefits including increased lean body mass, boosted energy, lower blood pressure, and improved alertness. But the Federal Trade Commission, which investigates fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace, puts it bluntly when they say, “There’s nothing you can wear or apply to your skin that will cause you to lose weight.”
Unbiased scientific evidence proving that weight/fat loss patches are effective is simply not available. But there are some reliable study results showing that when taken by mouth, at least some of the ingredients in weight/fat loss patches do what they say. For example,
- A study in 30 obese men found that taking forskolin by mouth changed body composition.
- A 67-person study of guarana and other supplements showed that the combination provided short-term weight and fat loss when taken orally.
But it is a big jump to conclude that if a drug works when taken by mouth, it will be effective in a patch.
Unproven Safety Record
Anyone familiar with past weight and fat loss aids recalls the health crisis surrounding the ephedrine-based diet pills. People taking these pills were at a higher risk for dangerous heart problems and stroke. But the weight loss patches today do not contain this dangerous ingredient. Still, because some of the ingredients can stimulate the metabolism and alter hormonal balance, people with any medical disorder, particularly thyroid disorders or diabetes, should not use these products. Women who are pregnant or nursing should also not wear the patches.
While fat loss patches are marketed extensively online and through many distributors, including home-based networking businesses, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not test them for safety and efficacy.
This means the claims of these products cannot be guaranteed.
As with any herbal remedy, many weight/fat loss patch ingredients are drugs that are classified as “natural plant derivatives.” This does not automatically mean they are safe. In fact, the NIH Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has already issued health cautions over using dietary herbal supplements along with prescription and other over-the-counter medicines. Safety issues are not readily known for patch ingredients but any consumers using a weight loss skin patch should be aware that they are allowing herbal drugs to enter their bodies. Therefore, it’s wise to consult a doctor before using these patches, especially if you are taking any prescribed medicines or are being treated for a medical condition.
Best With Diet and Exercise
There is no shortage of anecdotal success stories from weight loss patch believers who profess to have lost lots of weight and achieved considerably improved health. But is it the patch itself or could it be the increased attention to a healthy lifestyle that’s at the root of these successes? One manufacturer openly explained that patch use “puts a whole new idea in your head how to get healthier.” So perhaps weight loss patch believers are experiencing positive results because of healthy changes to their lifestyles, along with—or wholly aside from—patch use.
For those who do claim to lose weight or fat while wearing a patch, the loss happens gradually in most cases. However, most patch marketers advertise that long-term weight and fat loss maintenance is best achieved with a proper diet and exercise plan. No surprise there. In the end, the patches
may
help you shed a few pounds or get into a smaller dress size, but there still appears to be no getting around the fact that changes in lifestyle, like improved diet and more exercise, are needed to keep the pounds off—and keep healthy—for good.
