The Healthy Skeptic on Diet Patch Claims
As noted before, Chris Woolston’s ”Healthy Skeptic” column in the LA Times is pretty good. Here he is on the subject of diet patches…
Some day, scientists might develop an effective weight-loss patch, says Dr. Howard Eisenson, executive director of the Duke Diet and Fitness Center in Durham, N.C. But, to his mind, that day is probably still far off. The patches on the market today “are beyond ridiculous,” he says. “The more hyperbolic the claims, the more people can quickly dismiss the product.”
Eisenson says there’s no evidence that bladderwrack, a common ingredient in weight loss patches, can encourage weight loss or suppress appetite. The seaweed hasn’t been thoroughly tested orally, let alone through the skin, he says.
So far, no diet patch has passed muster in a published, peer-reviewed study, says Dr. Michael Steelman, past president of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians.




