Is the HCG diet a successful means to permanent weight loss?
A. Dr. Smith, one of our surgeons, responded: “Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) is produced by the placenta signaling the hypothalamus to mobilize fat stores in the pregnant woman. This helps bring appropriate energy to the developing fetus for growth and development. There are some cancers from the reproductive cells in men and woman which also can secrete this hormone. The recent resurgence of interest in this hormone has raised questions about the validity of relying on HCG to help people tolerate an extremely low caloric intake of 500 Kcal/day. While the first attempts at using this approach date back to the 1950’s, strong surges of interest have resurfaced about every ten years. In 1975 during a similar flurry of curiosity in this weight loss method, the FDA stated: “HCG has not been demonstrated to be effective adjunctive therapy in the treatment of obesity. There is no substantial evidence that it increases weight loss beyond that resulting from caloric restriction, that it ca
