CLA Helps Prevent Fat and Weight Gain

A new study performed by researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison demonstrates the role of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in helping prevent the typical weight and fat gain associated with aging, including weight and fat gain associated with the annual November through December holiday season. The results of the study were published today in the advance online version of the International Journal of Obesity (see http://www.nature.com/ijo/index.html).

The researchers noted that small weight gains during the holiday season can contribute to "weight creep" during adulthood. Therefore, they designed the study to see if CLA would help overweight adults significantly reduce body fat over a six-month period and prevent weight gain during the holiday season. The study subjects, 40 overweight--but otherwise healthy--men and women, ingested 4 grams of either CLA or a placebo per day from Aug. 2004 to March 2005. Although participants in this trial were not restricted by a controlled diet, they followed "healthy lifestyle" advice.

The findings showed that participants taking the CLA reduced their body fat mass by 2.2 lbs. and their body weight by 1.3 lbs. In comparison, subjects in the placebo group gained 1.5 lbs. of body fat mass and 2.4 lbs. of body weight.

"These findings suggest that CLA may serve a critical role in reducing a common weight and fat gain that occurs with age," said Dale Schoeller, Ph.D., professor of nutritional sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an author of the study. "About 65% of the U.S. population is obese or overweight--that's a dangerous trend on many levels. We need more research like this to help overweight individuals when they are susceptible to weight gain."

Results of this study corroborate and expand upon earlier findings by Jean-Michel Gaullier, an investigator from Scandinavian Clinical Research AS, Kjeller, Norway (see http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/79/6/1118). His studies revealed that CLA reduces body fat mass by as much as 9% in overweight, but otherwise healthy, adults.

The CLA used during the course of the University of Wisconsin-Madison study was supplied by Cognis, whose North American headquarters are in Cincinnati. The company's Tonalin® CLA is derived from natural safflower oil and is stimulant-free.