Two human studies, each lasting 21 days, suggest that pyruvate may have influenced weight loss of extremely obese women. All the women in these studies were confined to bed in a metabolic ward and were on very low calorie diets. The average weight loss on the 13 subjects in one study was 2 pounds, and for the 14 women in the other, it was 3.5 pounds, compared to those women who did not take pyruvate. This is a small weight loss given the size of these people. Also, the pyruvate dosage was huge, from 28- 90 grams per day.
Most commercial preparations provide only about one gram of pyruvate or less per capsule.
To date, no published studies have investigated the effect of pyruvate in helping a more typical, active population lose weight. Here again, just two short duration investigations with only a few subjects have been published. This was in comparison to a control group that did not take pyruvate. There are no published data on the effects of pyruvate on athletes or on the performance of other exercises, such as weight training. Also, the studies do not reflect the real life weight loss or performance situations.