hCG, a pregnancy hormone that many overweight women and some overambitious doctors believe can help metabolize fat, has become a popular and expensive diet aid, with some women paying $1,000 a month for the regimen. The New York Times reports on the trend, the claims, and the research, most of which suggests that people would save a lot of money and lose more weight if they just went to the gym. The Times quotes an assistant professor at Harvard medical school who researches weight-loss supplements describing the use of hCG as a diet tool as “manipulating people to give them the sense that they’re receiving something that’s powerful and potent and effective, and in fact they’re receiving something that’s nothing better than a placebo.†The paper also cites a 1995 a Dutch study in The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology that analysed 14 randomized clinical trials of the diet. Only two, including one co-written by an advocate of the diet, found that people on hCG lost more weight, felt less hunger and had an improved body shape, compared with people on the same 500-calorie diet who received a placebo, like saline injections.
Health, fitness and lifestyle tips for people over 50 who still like to play hard
Sunday, June 1, 2025
I have used this diet for over 20 years. I am 76 years old. In PERFECT health…take no meds. Blood pressure, blood sugar and cholostral is all perfect. I have lifted weights since I was 19, and job about 10 miles a week. (Hate Jogging) After 40…you just can’t lose weight like you did when you were younger. Men starting getting a big belly and no amount of exercise will make it go away. The HCG diet really works. For about $200 for 23 days, and a 23 lb. lost and you are set. I have used this many times over the years with NO…I repeat NO side effects of any kind, except immediate results. Big Pharma HATES this diet..they can’t get their greedy hands on it.
There are mixed opinion about hCG weight loss however it might be too early to criticize it because there are many review posted in favor of it.
The medical community needs to stop panning this diet and start doing research into why it works. There are too many success stories to ignore.