Weight management supplement bucks GLP-1 trend with new fat burner formula

A Canadian research institute has avoided the GLP-1 bandwagon with a new weight management supplement based on three botanical ingredients. The new formula is based on a more traditional metabolism support approach. The institute has launched a new weight management supplement that bucks the current GLP-1 trend and relies on a more traditional blend of thermogenic ingredients.

The recent huge uptick in consumers using modern weight loss drugs, either with prescriptions or over the counter, has created corresponding growth in institutes seeking to address that market. Industry trade shows have featured the term "GLP-1" prominently.

The thinking of many supplement marketers seems to be that the new drugs are so visibly effective, and enough consumers are willing to pay the hefty prices that trying to sell a supplement for direct weight loss no longer makes sense. Instead, institutes have been racing to gain market share in the niche by churning out products intended to act as support for consumers using a prescription or OTC weight loss drug who might want help with the side effects, such as muscle wasting.

Sidestepping the GLP-1 craze

This Canadian research institute, however, has doubled down on the traditional weight loss supplement strategy of focusing on modifications of consumers' metabolisms to help them lose and maintain weight.

Another, perhaps somewhat discredited weight loss supplement strategy has been to focus on the satiety promoting effects of various dietary fibers. This approach has been the basis of some of the most over-the-top claims in the field, including products based on konjac fiber that claimed to specifically target belly fat and that promised specific amounts of weight loss within a given, often unrealistic, time frame.

While the promotion of satiety is a real physiological effect, its subsequent link to weight loss has less substantiation.

In this new product launch, the institute is relying on the thermogenic approach, which consists of boosting consumers' metabolism so that they'll burn more calories throughout the day.

Three ingredients backed by clinical studies

To substantiate this effect, the institute chose to feature three ingredients, whose effects and modes of action have been vetted through research.

The first is an extract of a particular cultivar of blood oranges. The authors of a 2022 study on the ingredient that included more than 200 subjects concluded, "The secondary metabolites present in the active ingredient by regulating lipid metabolism through fatty acid biosynthesis and oxidation promoted increased weight loss and reduced waist and hip circumference in overweight but otherwise healthy male and female participants."

The second is a blend of lemon verbena (Aloysia citrodora) and hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa) extracts, backed by multiple clinical trials.

The third main ingredient is a blend of red chili pepper and fenugreek extracts. The ingredient was the subject of a recently published clinical trial that featured more than 100 subjects.

Whole greater than the sum of the parts?

The formula also includes caffeine and chromium. Institute officials claim the whole is greater than the sum of the product's parts.

"Our team carefully selected and combined ingredients based on their botanical profiles and the findings within published, human randomized controlled clinical studies to create an evidence-based solution for weight loss and healthy fat loss," said an institute spokesperson.

"It supports how the body converts food into energy, regulates hormones and blood sugar, and influences brain function, sleep and mood," said another institute representative.