CONCLUSIONS In otherwise healthy overweight or obese adults , there is some evidence that in the short term GM may help to reduce BW , but not BMI .
OBJECTIVE Glucomannan ( GM ) , a soluble fiber derived from the plant Amorphophallus konjac , is marketed as being helpful in reducing body weight .
However , the data supporting this cl aim are scarce .
The aim of this review was to systematic ally evaluate the effects of GM on body weight ( BW ) and body mass index ( BMI ) in otherwise healthy obese or overweight children and adults .
Childhood obesity treatment: double blinded trial on dietary fibres (glucomannan) versus placebo.
Dietary fibres are frequently used for the treatment of paediatric obesity . The aim of this clinical trial is to evaluate the efficacy of glucomannan in the  child obesity management . This experimental design was double blinded with a block r and omisation , alpha = 0.05 , beta = 0.2 and delta = 50 % . The study involved 60 children under 15 years of age ( mean age 11.2 years , mean overweight 46 % ) , 30 of them under glucomannan treatment ( 1 g twice a day for two months ) and 30 under placebo and the same schedule . The drug and the placebo were indistinguishable both for the family and the physician . During the two months study period the children followed a normocaloric diet evaluated every two weeks by a dietetic record book . At the beginning of the study the drug and the placebo groups were comparable in regards to anthropometric data . At the end , the mean overweight of the drug group was decreased from 49.5 % to 41 % and that of the placebo group from 43.9 % to 41.7 % . Both decreases were significant ( p < 0.01 ) , but no significant difference was observed between the drug and the placebo groups . The only significant difference concerned the lipid metabolism . The children under glucomannan treatment manifested a significant decrease of alpha-lipoprotein and an increase of pre-beta-lipoprotein and triglycerides ; the children under placebo manifested only a decrease of triglycerides and apo beta-lipoprotein . We suggest that this metabolic alteration may derive from a primary decrease of alpha-lipoprotein , most likely because of an inadequate water intake . ( ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS
CONCLUSIONS In otherwise healthy overweight or obese adults , there is some evidence that in the short term GM may help to reduce BW , but not BMI .
OBJECTIVE Glucomannan ( GM ) , a soluble fiber derived from the plant Amorphophallus konjac , is marketed as being helpful in reducing body weight .
However , the data supporting this cl aim are scarce .
The aim of this review was to systematic ally evaluate the effects of GM on body weight ( BW ) and body mass index ( BMI ) in otherwise healthy obese or overweight children and adults .