It was too good to be true: A study touting green coffee bean extract as a phenomenal weight loss drug has been retracted by its authors.
The study was written by Joe Vinson and Bryan Burnham of the University of Scranton, and published in 2012 in the journal Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity: Targets and Therapy. One of the study's fans was Dr. Mehmet Oz, who praised the extract on his television show as a "miracle" weight loss aid.
The research was sponsored by Applied Food Science Inc., a manufacturer of the green coffee bean extract. Last month, the Federal Trade Commission reached a $3.5 million settlement with the company, saying their research was "so hopelessly flawed that no reliable conclusions could be drawn from it."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The FTC says the study was conducted in India, and the lead researcher changed the length of the trial, incorrectly identified who was taking the placebo, and altered the measurements of subjects, the Los Angeles Times reports. When the study was over, researchers claimed 16 participants took part, and those who took the extract lost an average of 17.5 pounds in 22 weeks, reducing their overall body weight by more than 10 percent. The FTC says that when the India investigators could not get the study published, AFS hired Vinson and Burnham.
In addition to the $3.5 million, AFS must "have scientific substantiation for any future weight-loss claims it makes, including at least two adequate and well-controlled human clinical tests."
-
Glinda vs. Elphaba, Jennifer Lawrence vs. postpartum depression and wilderness vs. progress in November moviesthe week recommends This month’s new releases include ‘Wicked: For Good,’ ‘Die My Love’ and ‘Train Dreams’
-
‘The problem isn’t creation itself’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
‘Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America’ and ‘Unabridged: The Thrill of (and Threat to) the Modern Dictionary’feature The culture divide in small-town Ohio and how the internet usurped dictionaries
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
