Herbalife And Taipei Medical University Partner Up For Diet Clinical Study

Study to show whether combination of meal replacement, fish oil, and a calorie-restricted diet led to effective weight management.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) entered into an agreement with Taipei Medical University to conduct a clinical study as well as trials to study the combination of fish oil, meal replacement and calorie restricted diet leading to a better management of weight and improvement in the metabolic syndrome.

This is the first of a kind medical research study and part of the nutrition food company’s corporate social responsibility in collaborating with a medical university in Asia that is renowned in researching on traditional medicinal products with a slight modern twist to address the growing health challenges of the world.

The results released showed that during the 12-week period that was conducted, participants lost 6.5 cm in terms of waist circumference, around 4.5 kg in weight and 2.5% in body fat percentage. Other factors, such as the triglyceride level, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, fasting blood glucose level, were all brought into control by the method.

A total of less than 190 students were selected for the study in Taiwan, and were segregated into four different parts, namely  “calorie restricted diet”; “calorie restricted diet with meal replacement”; “calorie restricted diet with fish oil”; and “calorie restricted diet with meal replacement and fish oil” groups.

David Heber, chairman of Herbalife Nutrition Institute and Advisory Board, stated that metabolic syndrome is affecting at least 20-20 percent of the middle aged adults in many countries around the world and has resulted in increased waist circumference, fast rising blood sugar and blood pressure. This condition is becoming increasingly common among Asian adults, and that is the reason why here is a spike in cases of diabetes and heart disease.

The Taipei Medical University was all praise for the collaboration from Herbalife’s part, which had provided vital data and the scope of the study structure and sharing of expertise that has helped to shape the study to reflect on the local needs while ensuring correct information is being supplied, so that prevention measure can be enacted to ensure healthier living for young adults around the world, instead of looking it from the perspective of profits and what healthy snacks from the part of Herbalife can be supplied to those adults for a better standard of living.

The Journal will be published in the “Journal of Functional Foods”, a well-known journal in the food science research field, as well as on the “European Journal of Clinical Nutrition”, an internationally renowned nutrition journal. Herbalife’s stock price ended the day at $53.91, a loss of 0.30% from the previous day.