A controversial weight loss treatment first popular in the 1970s, which involves injecting yourself with pregnancy hormones to trick the body into thinking its full, is making a comeback.
But doctors and health officials are warning that the fad is ‘irresponsible’, ‘dangerous’ and ‘appalling’, with no scientific evidence to prove its effectiveness.
The HCG drug, which costs $1,150 for 30 days-worth of injections, reduces users’ calorie intake to just 500 a day. Guidelines suggest women should around 1800 calories a day.
Dr David Katz, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center, told ABC News: ‘We’re so desperate to have good solutions for weight control that a lot of people with good common sense literally suspend it when it they confront weight-loss claims.
‘This diet is appalling. It takes irresponsible diets to new heights. A 500-calorie-a-day diet is just plain dangerous.
When you restrict calories to that level, there’s a real risk for not providing your body with enough essential amino acids, so it scavenges itself. In some instances, it can cause the body to scavenge from critical places, like the heart.’
But scores of women say the treatment has been successful for them.
Psychologist Dr. Guldal Caba started using the product after she gained 40 pounds during the menopause.
She said: ‘This is an opportunity to train the body to eat smaller portions, eat healthy foods and learn what works for you.
She injects the hormone into her stomach every day and added: ‘I have lost 23 pounds so far.’
Dr. Lionel Bissoon, who has championed the drug and prescribes it to his patients said he has seen people losing weight having taken HCG.
He added: ‘People who have failed diets, people who have failed pretty much everything. We have seen that HCG makes a big difference for them.
‘I make absolutely no claim that this is indicated for weight loss.
‘My consent form shows a disclaimer that says this is not FDA approved for weight loss and it’s being used off label. But we can’t dismiss something because there is no evidence right now, on hand.’
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration calls HCG supplements illegal and fraudulent, and prevents direct-to-consumer sale.
But because HCG is approved for other reasons, such as fertility treatments, doctors can prescribe it if they choose.
According to the National Institutes of Health, the lowest recommended intake a day should be 1,200 calories for women and 1,500 for men.
Experts warn that rapid weight loss can see the body start to, ultimately, burn itself down in an attempt to get energy missing because of starvation. The risk is that the body starts to attack vital organs like the heart, leading to possible heart attack.
More than a dozen clinical trials have failed to support a role for HCG in weight loss and the FDA said: ‘HCG has not been demonstrated to be effective adjunctive therapy in the treatment of obesity that it increases weight loss… [or] decreases the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie restricted diets.’
During pregnancy, HCG influences the levels of other hormones, including oestrogen and progesterone.
Dr Katz added: ‘You might lose weight fast but you’ll gain it all back when you go back to living like a normal person, again.
‘And if you do stick with it, you’ll be very thin but I doubt you’ll be very healthy.’
He suggests weight-loss programmes that combine more modest calorie reduction and exercise are a better bet for keeping the pounds off.
‘The HCG diet is not only a silly fad diet but it’s also a dangerous one.’
