The research indicates that daily supplementation of 6.4 grams of Tonalin CLA significantly lowered body weight, body mass index (BMI) and total adipose mass without affecting lean muscle mass in postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes who were not on a weight-loss diet and activity plan.
Researchers gave the 55 obese and menopausal participants with type 2 diabetes (average 10 years of diabetes history) safflower oil or Tonalin CLA for 16 weeks in this randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study. CLA supplementation reduced body weight (1-1.6 kg), BMI and total adipose mass without altering lean mass. Inflammation markers and insulin resistance were not affected.
“We now have compelling scientific evidence suggesting that CLA could help diabetics manage their body weight over the long term,” said the study’s principal investigator, Dr. Martha Belury, the Carol S. Kennedy Professor at the Department of Human Nutrition at Ohio State University. “With escalating numbers of diabetics worldwide, our research indicates that CLA could be safe and effective in helping to reduce body fat, a contributing factor to this rapidly growing disease."
Dr. Belury explained that because BMI had not yet reached a plateau at the end of the 16-week period, it is possible that further reductions in BMI are achievable with a longer period of CLA supplementation. “The CLA-induced weight loss in our study can be attributed to the reduction of adipose tissue mass since a change in lean mass was not observed. Importantly, the adipose-lowering effect of CLA occurred without a change in lean tissue mass, which is particularly significant because postmenopausal women are at risk for losing lean tissue mass.”
Doris Bell, PhD, senior research platform manager at Cognis and a co-author of the study, noted, “This trial adds to the totality of evidence and confirms the results of more than a dozen clinical studies demonstrating the fat-loss benefits of Tonalin CLA in lean, overweight or obese people.”
This study is the first to demonstrate the body fat-lowering effects of Tonalin CLA in obese postmenopausal women. Postmenopausal women are at elevated risk of weight gain and body fat gain, which increases risk for several chronic diseases including metabolic syndrome.
Every year in the U.S. more than 800,000 people are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Of the 15.7 million people with diabetes, more than half (8.1 million) are women and 90-95% of them have type 2 diabetes. Obesity, defined as excessive adipose tissue (fat mass), is a major factor to the development of type 2 diabetes.