A recent article in Slate magazine was promoting the efficacy of the hCG diet (Larimore, 2011). Since many people get their info from popular media (and advertisements) on the internet, and I have heard a lot of people talking about the hCG diet, I decided to do a little research.
I was unable to find any information that actually explained how hCG works. There are lots of web sites talking about what it does – burning “abnormal” fat and decreasing appetite. HCG stands for human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone produced during pregnancy. Every web site that I found talks about how it decreases appetite and leads to weight loss. Maybe my pregnancy was abnormal, but I did not have a decreased appetite (until the end of my pregnancy, anyway) or weight loss while my body was naturally making this hormone. Since I cannot find any information (translation: scientific explanation) for why this works, I am still stumped.
I did find one piece of troubling information. One web page promoting the diet states that “[t]his is why women can throw up for three months straight during ‘morning sickness’ and the baby does not suffer” (About HCG). If a woman is actually throwing up for three months straight, the baby can suffer. Please go see your doctor!
The “diet” is promoted as leading to rapid weight loss. While following this diet you may only eat 500 Calories per day from protein, fruit and vegetables (About HCG, Larimore, 2011). I did not read anywhere about taking a multivitamin supplement. The diet also claims that you will not feel hungry while eeating a 500 Calorie diet. I even found a research article from the 1970s exploring this topic (Asher & Harper, 1973). Their sample size was small – only 30 people completed the entire study. There was a significant difference in perceived hunger between the control (placebo) group and the experimental (hCG) group. More people in the control group dropped out of the study than the experimental group. So maybe there is some validity to the claims of apeetite suppression.
My biggest concern with this diet is the caloric restriction. No one can survive on this low of a caloric intake for long. The brain and nervous system need approximately 130 grams of glucose per day for proper functions, and this would equal 520 Calories just from carbohydrates. In addition, any time you go below 1200-1400 Calories per day it is very hard to have adequate intakes of all of the vitamins and minerals.
My other huge concern is the sustainability of the diet. Americans have been weight-conscious for decades now, and overweight and obesity rates are still rising (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). We have tried all sorts of diets, from cutting out fat to cutting out carbohydrates, and nothing has helped. That is because “diets” are rarely sustainable. In order for weight loss to be sustainable, people need to replace old habits with new ones. A 500 Calorie a day diet is not sustainable for the long term. What is this diet teaching about permanent lifestyle changes? That is the only was to reverse weight gain for more than a few weeks.
Most of the information that I have read says that the diet does work – at least for the short term and you get the injections. There is questionable evidence regarding the effectiveness of the drops. Of course, if you could sustain a 500 Calorie a day diet, you would probably lose the same amount of weight. Quickly your body would go into ketosis (contrary to what Dr. Atins said, that is not actually a good thing), and your body would be incompletely metabolizing your fat stores.
Another interesting bit of information that I found is that hCG is used to treat fertiity issues (Nelson, 2010). HCG stimulates the ovaries to release mature eggs. This means that if you are taking hCG, you may have a higher probability of getting pregnant, and having multiple births.
Works Cited
About HCG. (n.d.). Retrieved October 24, 2011, from hcgtriumph at hcgdiet.com: http://www.hcgdiet.com/abouthcg.html
Asher, W. L., & Harper, H. W. (1973, February). Effect of human chorionic gonadotrophin on weight loss, hunger, and feeling of well-being. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition , 211-218. Retrieved October 24, 2011, from The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: http://www.ajcn.org/content/26/2/211.full.pdf
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011, July 21). US obesity trends. Retrieved October 24, 2011, from Overweight and Obesity: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html
Larimore, R. (2011, October 19). I did a crazy fad diet from the internet and it worked. Retrieved October 24, 2011, from Slate: http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2011/10/hcg_diet_how_it_worked_for_me_.html
Nelson, J. K. (2010, June 26). HCG diet: Is it safe and effective. Retrieved October 24, 2011, from Weight loss: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hcg-diet/AN02091
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