By David Liu, PHD

Thursday Nov 15, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- It is hard to lose weight, but not if you know how.  A new study released recently in Obesity suggests if you are serious in weight loss, you may want to consider using a dietary supplement made of caffeine and ephedra because the study has found the supplement can cause weight loss very effectively.

Frank L. Greenway of Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, LA and colleagues conducted the small trial and found individuals with obesity or overweight who used a dietary supplement with caffeine and ephedra  had greater weight loss, compared to controls.

For the study,  a dietary supplement with herbal caffeine at 70 mg per dose and ephedra at 24 mg per dose was tested in three phases for its effect on resting metabolic rate, weight loss, body composition, and safety parameters in 40 individuals.

Exactly, in a phase 1 trial, 12 healthy people with a body mass index of 25 to 35 kg/m2 had resting metabolic rate measured two hours after ingesting the dietary supplement or a placebo on two occasions one week apart, followed by a one-week washout phase.

From this clinical trial, those who were given the caffeine/ephedra supplement had an average 8% increase in resting metabolic rate over 2 hours, compared with those who were on the placebo.

Then in the phase 2 double-blind trial, these same 12 individuals and additional 28 subjects were randomized to receive either the caffeine/ephedra dietary supplement or the placebo three times per day for 12 weeks.

As a result, at 12 weeks, weight loss was 3.5 kg in those receiving the dietary supplement, compared to 0.8 kg in those given a placebo.  The difference is huge.  And better yet, the percentage of fat lost was 7.9% in those using the caffeine/ephedra supplement, compared to 1.9% in those given the placebo.

The pulse was slower in those on the placebo, compared to those on the caffeine/ephedera supplement, but there was no difference in lipid levels and blood pressure.

In a phase III trial, those in the caffeine/ephedra supplementation group were given an open-label dietary supplement for 3 months while the placebo group given the caffeine/ephedra supplement for 6 months.

From the phase III trial, weight loss was 7.3% and 7.8% of initial body weight for the groups on the placebo and the dietary supplement during the phase II trial. In other words, the total weight loss was similar. No serious adverse effects were associated with using the caffeine/ephedra supplement.

The researchers came to the conclusion that "C&E (caffeine/ephedra) increased RMR (resting metabolic rate) significantly by 8%, compared with placebo, promoted more weight loss and fat loss than placebo, and was well tolerated."