Garcinia extract derived from South Asian plants such as Garcinia Cambogia and Garcinia indica is used by people to lose weight. Considering the information from the randomized clinical trial by Onakpoya et al. (2010) and comparing it to other sources, it can be said that media in the majority of cases accurately reports about extract’s advances. Onakpoya et al. conducted electronic searches that included weight loss techniques in the databases such as Embase, Medline, and Cinahl. As a result, 12 randomized clinical trials with 706 participants were included in the review. The analysis revealed no major difference in weight loss between hydroxy citric acid (HCA), a substance in garcinia responsible for body weight change, and other placebo groups. Moreover, the study reported the adverse effects of HCA, such as nausea, headaches, and gastrointestinal tract symptoms.
Other media sources also reviewed the effectiveness of this substance. A more recent news article by Johnson (2017) examines the effect of Garcinia Cambodia on body loss. The author points to the benefits such as athletic ability enhancement and making the body feel full. Garcinia increases the level of endurance during exercise and prevents the organism from tiring too quickly. However, the researcher also points to the necessity of conducting more trials with larger sample groups and lists the side effects of HCA, which makes his work unbiased and accurate. Another article from the WebMD website discusses whether garcinia is safe for weight loss (Ratini 2019). The information presented is similar to that posted in previously mentioned articles. Ratini (2019) tells about the possible positive effect of the extract but also acknowledges that this effect might be due to other factors such as diet or physical exercise. Without referring to benefits only, he lists some side effects.
References
Johnson, J. (2017). Does Garcinia Cambodia work? Medical News Today. Web.
Onakpoya, I., Hung, S. K., Perry, R., Wider, B., Ernst, E. (2010). The use of Garcinia extract (a hydroxycytric acid) as a weight loss supplement: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Journal of Obesity, 2011, 1-9.
Ratini, M. (2019). Garcinia Cambodia: Safe for weight loss? WebMD. Web.