Why We Don’t Prescribe Beta-HCG For Weight Loss
By Dr. Sabowitz
With all the hype over β-HCG as a treatment for obesity, it’s no surprise that patients often request it to aid their weight loss. But the reason that I, a medical doctor, will not prescribe it may come as a surprise – it’s because it simply doesn’t work.
Beta-Human chorionic gonadotropin, or β-HCG as most people know it, is a hormone produced during pregnancy that began being used as a treatment for obesity by Dr. Albert Simeons in 1954. Despite the lack of medical evidence for using β-HCG to treat obesity, clinics using Dr. Simeons diet and prescribing β-HCG continue to be popular all over the United States.
Quick Results. Long-Term Failure.
The reason for β-HCG’s popularity stems from the quick results that patients are promised – and often do see – at the beginning of the plan. This is due to the fact that the β-HCG plan is always paired with an extremely low daily caloric intake of about 500 calories with very strict instructions on what can and cannot be eaten. Anyone will lose weight on such a restrictive diet – regardless of whether or not β-HCG is injected.
The problem with this method is that such a restrictive diet also results in the loss of significant amounts of muscle mass. Muscle is what burns calories in your body, so if you lose muscle today, you are losing your ability to burn calories tomorrow. That makes it harder and harder to maintain the weight you worked so hard to lose.
The Surprising Truth
Countless studies have been done that prove over and over that β-HCG has no affect on weight loss. One that I like to reference is a study of 40 patients who were randomized to receive either β-HCG or a placebo. The result was that there was absolutely no difference in hunger, amount of weight lost, or changes in waist, chest, arm or thigh measurements. This study was published in 1977. So, we have known that β-HCG does not work for 35 years. Several additional studies have been done since then with larger test groups and all have produced the same conclusion that β-HCG has no affect on weight loss
Taking Action
Based on the results of these numerous studies, the American Society of Bariatric Physicians has recommended that β-HCG not be used in the treatment of patients with the chronic disease of obesity. In addition, the FDA has begun to send warning letters to physicians and companies who advertise that β-HCG is effective for weight loss. They have even stated that such claims are fraudulent – “Failure to promptly correct these violations may result in legal action without further notice, including, without limitation, seizure and injunction. Other federal agencies may take this Warning Letter into account when considering the award of contracts”. In the fall of 2011 the Attorney General of the State of Texas actually cited several β-HCG providers with false advertising.
The Right Approach
Obesity is a complex chronic disease that cannot be treated with a magic bullet. Effective control of the disease requires long term treatment, by medical experts who understand the disease and the people who suffer from it. Let us help create a weight loss program that is right for you.
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