♦ Chromium supplements are sold on the basis that they increase lean body mass, help reduce body weight and decrease body fat levels.

♦ Is there any truth in that statement ?

The ever increasing rate of obesity, fat and weight gain globally is prompting individuals to seek weight control and management products. They must be safe, convenient, and effective in promoting weight and fat loss whilst preserving muscle. One such mineral supplement that has attracted attention is chromium. 

Chromium is an essential trace mineral and a cofactor with insulin. In biochemical terms it enhances insulin activity in helping to manage glucose blood levels. The RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) for chromium is currently 35 mcg/d for men and for women, 25 mcg/d, all between the ages of 15 and 50.

Chromium Picolinate 

Chromium picolinate is an organic compound of trivalent chromium and picolinic acid, a naturally occurring derivative of tryptophan. The use of the anion picolinate improves its absorption across the intestinal luminal wall. This form is the most preferred for supplementation.

Obesity Management And weight Reduction 

Its role as an anti-obesity and metabolic energy supplement however requires further critical consideration. It attracted considerable research interest in this regard from the 80’s. A series of studies into its role in carbohydrate, protein, and lipid metabolism (Offenbacher and Pi-Sunyer, 1988; Mertz, 1993; Anderson, 1998; Lukaski, 1999) gave supplementation with chromium a serious platform. An early study with animals  indicated that chromium supplementation increased lean body mass and reduced body fat. Similar research goals with humans as the subject reported the same type of results (Hasten et al., 1992).

Research into effects on metabolism then included a number of studies focusing on specific increases in lean body mass, decreasing percentage body fat, and increases in the basal metabolic rate (Crawford et al., 1999; Anderson, 1998). Those studies were generally not so tightly controlled. Better managed and controlled studies then indicated that chromium supplementation (200 to 800 mcg/d) did not improve lean body mass or reduce body fat (Campbell et al., 2002). 

Pittler & Ernst (2004) conducted an extensive meta-analysis on a number of studies using chromium which assessed the results of 10 double-blind randomised and placebo-controlled trials. To paraphrase their results, they highlighted a modest but small reduction in body weight of between 1.1 to 1.2 kg (i.e. 0.08–0.2 kg/wk) compared with the placebo during an intervention period of 6 –14 weeks in patients with an average BMI of 28–33 (Pittler et al., 2003). This significant reduction in body weight equated to about 0.08 to 0.2 kg/week. They illustrated the point that the benefits from chromium supplementation were meagre by comparing it with a diet based on 3300 kJ/day. This diet achieved a mean weight loss of about 1.5–2.5 kg/week, whilst a more moderate energy restriction of 5000 kJ/day resulted in a weight loss of 0.5–0.6 kg/week (Cowburn et al., 1997). Pittler and Ernst (2004) suggested the observed effect with chromium picolinate was, although statistically significant, not clinically meaningful.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled study in subjects with type 2 diabetes showed that chromium picolinate did not promote weight loss but was reported to significantly attenuate body weight gain and enhance insulin sensitivity as compared to the placebo group (Martin et al., 2006). One study showed no benefit with women as subjects (Lukaski et al., 2007) in terms of weight loss or obesity management.

Conclusions 

Generally, it is thought that chromium picolinate supplementation might attenuate weight gain unlike a number of other commercial weight loss products, but the mechanism for this is unknown. It may alter the neurotransmitter balance involved in the regulation of eating behaviour, mood, and food cravings (McLeod and Golden, 2000; Attenburrow et al., 2002; Docherty et al., 2005). There has been a substantial shift in research interest to diabetes control because of its role in insulin behaviour. 

Unfortunately, definitive studies that wholly support chromium supplementation have not been forthcoming. There is a recent investigation of past trials which concludes that chromium supplementation did generate a small benefit with a statistically significant reduction in body weight (Onakpoya et al., 2013). Generally, chromium is now sold for regulation of glucose metabolism.

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References

Anderson, R.A. (1998) Effects of chromium on body composition and weight loss. Nutr. Rev. 56 pp. 266–70

Attenburrow, M.J., Odontiadis, J., Murray, B.J., Cowen, P.J., Franklin, M., (2002) Chromium treatment decreases the sensitivity of 5-HT2A receptors. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 159 pp. 432–436

Campbell, W.W., Joseph, L.J., Anderson, R.A., Davey, S.L., Hinton, J., Evans, W.J. (2002) Effects of resistive training and chromium picolinate on body composition and skeletal muscle size in older women. Int. J. Sport Nutr. Exerc. Metab. 12 (2) pp. 125-35.

Cowburn, G., Hillsdon, M., Hankey, C.R. (1997) Obesity management by life-style strategies. Br. Med. Bull. 53 pp. 389–408

Crawford, V., Scheckenbach, R., Preuss, H.G. (1999) Effects of niacin-bound chromium supplementation on body composition in overweight African-American women. Diabet. Obes. Metab.1 pp. 331–7

Docherty, J.P., Sack, D.A., Roffman, M., Finch, M., Komorowski, J.R. (2005) A double-blind, placebo-controlled, exploratory trial of chromium picolinate in atypical depression: effect on carbohydrate craving. J. Psychiatr. Pract. 11 pp. 302–314

Hasten, D.L., Rome, E.P., Franks, B.D., Hegsted, M (1992) Effects of chromium picolinate on beginning weight training students. Int. J. Sport Nutr.  2 (4) pp. 343-50

Lukaski, H.C. (1999) Chromium as a supplement. Annu. Rev.  Nutr. 19 pp. 279–302

Lukaski, H. C., Siders, W. A., & Penland, J. G. (2007). Chromium picolinate supplementation in women: effects on body weight, composition, and iron status. Nutrition, 23(3) pp. 187-195.

Martin, J., Wang, Z.Q., Zhang, X.H., Wachtel, D., Volaufova, J., Matthews, D.E., Cefalu, W.T. (2006) Chromium picolinate supplementation attenuates body weight gain and increases insulin sensitivity in subjects with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 29 pp. 1826–1832.

McLeod, M.N., Golden, R.N. (2000) Chromium treatment of depression. Int. J. Neuropsychopharmacol. 3 pp. 311–314.

Mertz, W. (1993) Chromium in human nutrition: a review. J. Nutr. 123 pp. 626–33

Offenbacher, E.G., Pi-Sunyer, F.X. (1988) Chromium in human nutrition. Annu. Rev. Nutr. 8 pp. 543–63

Onakpoya, I., Posadzki, P., & Ernst, E. (2013). Chromium supplementation in overweight and obesity: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized clinical trials. Obesity Reviews, 14(6), pp. 496-507.

Pittler, M. H., & Ernst, E. (2004). Dietary supplements for body-weight reduction: a systematic review. Amer. J. Clin. Nutr., 79(4), pp. 529-536.

Pittler, M.H., Stevinson, C., Ernst, E. (2003) Chromium picolinate for reducing body weight: Meta-analysis of randomized trials. Int. J. Obes. Relat. Metab. Disord. 27 pp. 522–9

Volpe, S.L., Huang, H.W., Larpadisorn, K., Lesser, I.I. (2001) Effect of chromium supplementation and exercise on body composition, resting metabolic rate and selected biochemical parameters in moderately obese women following an exercise program. J. Am. Coll. Nutr. 20 (4): pp. 293-306.