Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Dec 3;10(12):1876.
doi: 10.3390/nu10121876.

Body Composition Changes in Weight Loss: Strategies and Supplementation for Maintaining Lean Body Mass, a Brief Review

Darryn Willoughby  1 , Susan Hewlings  2   3 , Douglas Kalman  4   5
Affiliations
Review

Body Composition Changes in Weight Loss: Strategies and Supplementation for Maintaining Lean Body Mass, a Brief Review

Darryn Willoughby et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

With over two-thirds (71.6%) of the US adult population either overweight or obese, many strategies have been suggested for weight loss. While many are successful, the weight loss is often accompanied by a loss in lean body mass. This loss in lean body mass has multiple negative health implications. Therefore, weight loss strategies that protect lean body mass are of value. It is challenging to consume a significant caloric deficit while maintaining lean body mass regardless of macronutrient distribution. Therefore, the efficacy of various dietary supplements on body weight and body composition have been a topic of research interest. Chromium picolinate has been shown to improve body composition by maintaining lean body mass. In this paper we review some common weight loss strategies and dietary supplements with a focus on their impact on body composition and compare them to the effect of chromium picolinate.

Keywords: chromium picolinate; dietary supplements; lean body mass; weight loss; weight loss strategies.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
An overview of various weight loss clinical trials to examine the changes in body composition that occur from using popular diet programs. It should be emphasized that each diet program is distinct and contains unique and different exercise programs and diets that are thought to be helpful for weight loss but are not always evaluated by change in body composition. Results showed that all the popular diet programs examined lead to weight loss, though a large percent of the weight lost during these diet programs comes from a loss in LBM [14,16,17,18].
Figure 2
Figure 2
The changes in body composition that occur from using CrP versus other popular dietary supplements from various weight loss clinical trials are presented. It should be emphasized that each supplement and study conditions are distinct and contain unique and different exercise programs and diets that are thought to be helpful for weight loss, but ultimately are not evaluated by overall body composition. Results showed that compared to other popular weight loss supplements, CrP supplementation resulted in the greatest percentage of FM loss and the smallest percentage of LBM loss from total weight loss. While CrP and other dietary supplements all lead to weight loss, a larger percent of the weight lost during these studies comes from a loss in LBM. CrP appears to offer an effective means of improving body composition, as individuals are able to lose their fat, while retaining their muscle [14,31,32,33,34].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ogden C.L., Carroll M.D., Fryar C.D., Flegal K.M. Prevalence of obesity among adults and youth: United States, 2011–2014. NCHS data brief, No. 219. National Center for Health Statistics; Hyattsville, MD, USA: 2015. - PubMed
    1. Stern L., Iqbal N., Seshadri P., Chicano K.L., Daily D.A., McGrory J., Williams M., Gracely E.J., Samaha F.F. The effects of low-carbohydrate versus conventional weight loss diets in severely obese adults: One-year follow-up of a randomized trial. Ann. Intern. Med. 2004;140:778–785. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-140-10-200405180-00007. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Forbes G. Longitudinal changes in adult fat-free mass: Influence of body weight. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1999;70:1025–1031. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/70.6.1025. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tsai A., Wadden T.A. Systematic review: An evaluation of major commercial weight loss programs in the United States. Ann. Intern. Med. 2005;142:56–66. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-142-1-200501040-00012. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ravussin E., Lillioja S., Knowler W.C., Christin L., Freymond D., Abbott W.G., Boyce V., Howard B.V., Bogardus C. Reduced rate of energy expenditure as a risk factor for body-weight gain. N. Engl. J. Med. 1988;318:467–472. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198802253180802. - DOI - PubMed