Most weight-loss supplements sold online at a discount to service members and tested by Defense Department researchers are mislabeled, and some contain substances banned for troop consumption, a new analysis has found.
The researchers, who investigated whether service members are at risk of ingesting unsafe products, tested 30 weight-loss supplements available online and in stores to determine whether they contained the ingredients listed on their labels or had hidden additives .
They found that 24 listed ingredients that weren’t actually there, seven had additives that weren’t listed as ingredients, and a third had substances found on the Defense Department’s list of prohibited dietary supplement ingredients, according to the study, published online wednesday by the journal JAMA Network Open.
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According to the report, all of the products were also classified as “risks” when assessed against the Defense Department’s Operations Supplement Security Scorecard. The research was conducted by the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine.
Service members must maintain their weight and fitness levels as a career requirement, making them a lucrative target for the $43.9 billion US weight loss supplement industry.
Mislabeled or dangerous supplements, however, can pose a risk to troops, jeopardizing their health, careers and financial well-being, the researchers noted.
“Predatory marketing to service members and the low quality of dietary supplements promoted for weight loss pose a threat to the military and the public,” wrote the authors, led by Cindy Crawford, senior research associate at the Foundation Henry M. Jackson.
The obesity rate among U.S. troops increased 13.3 percent from 2020 to 2021, while diagnoses of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes among service members also increased; the latter, the risk of which increases greatly with bad eating habits, increased by 25. % since 2018, according to data published in March 2023 by the Defense Health Agency.
Given the pressure troops face to stay fit, they are more likely to turn to dietary supplements, “mistakenly believing that dietary supplements have been declared safe and effective by the Food and Drug Administration if they are available for their shop in stores and online.” according to the study.
The Food and Drug Administration requires supplements to be labeled as dietary supplements; the name and place of the manufacturer; ingredients; and product content.
Analyzing the chemical makeup of the products using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, the researchers found that many were adulterated or did not contain ingredients listed on their labels, such as raspberry ketones, hoodia or other extracts that claim to promote weight loss. weight
Some even contained DMAA, a synthetic ingredient banned by the FDA in 2013. Known as a fat burner, DMAA is known to raise blood pressure and can cause health problems such as shortness of breath or heart attacks .
The Department of Defense launched Operation Supplement Safety in 2012 to educate the military community about dietary supplements and the potential health risks of the ingredients. The program’s website provides extensive resources on supplements and contains a list of substances banned by the Department of Defense.
The researchers noted that more education is needed among health care professionals and service members to address supplement safety. According to the authors, the results of their study
“demand solutions”.
“These issues present clear health risks for all consumers,” they wrote.
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