CLA – New Research Shows Potential to Help at Risk Children Achieve and Maintain a Healthy Body Weight

Numerous factors have been identified which are suggested to contribute childhood as well as adult weight gain such as reduced or lack of physical activity, food choices of high caloric value and excessive food intake.

Sep 15 2010 --- The increasing trends in children who are overweight and childhood obesity will have a significant impact on public health for future generations. The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity rates worldwide have been on the rise. For example, prevalence of childhood obesity in school age children between 2006 and 2010 rose from 13.2% to 15.2% in the United States and 7.9% to 10.0% in Europe. Overweight and obesity during childhood is associated with a high probability of obesity in adulthood. Obesity or excessive weight gain in adulthood (which is largely due to excessive fat mass) is associated with a substantial breadth of health problems, including an increased risk of coronary heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes. Therefore, it is imperative to establish strategies to halt the trend of weight gain and obesity and help children achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.

Numerous factors have been identified which are suggested to contribute childhood as well as adult weight gain such as reduced or lack of physical activity, food choices of high caloric value and excessive food intake. While increasing physical activity and monitoring caloric and food intake may indeed prove to be effective strategies to prevent excessive weight gain in children, another effective and novel strategy may be the use of active ingredients to help at risk children maintain a healthy weight. A new study suggests that one ingredient with potential to help children at risk of becoming overweight or obese achieve and maintain a healthy body weight is conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). CLA is a naturally occurring polyunsaturated 18-carbon compound most commonly present in dairy and beef products, as mostly the cis-9, trans-11 (c9,t11) isomer. Human dietary intake of CLA is approximately 130–440 mg/day. CLA in larger quantities can also be derived from safflower oil which contains largely the cis-9, trans-11 and trans-10, cis-12 (t10,c12) isomers. These are considered the most physiologically active isomers, to show effects on weight management. CLA has been available as a weight management supplement for more than 15 years and also recently as a food ingredient in the United States, European Union, and other territories. In July 2008, CLA was FDA GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) approved for its use in a wide range of food applications. More than 2500 studies over the past 20 years were done, of which 27 published human clinical trials  have shown that CLA supplementation can positively influence body composition by significantly decreasing fat mass and increasing lean body mass in adults independent of diet and exercise. Two recent meta-analyses confirmed the effects of CLA supplementation on decreased fat mass and increased lean body mass in adults. The total fat loss produced by CLA supplementation at the recommended 3.2 g daily dosage is approximately 2 kg after treatments of 1 y which is equivalent to 90 g fat loss per week. CLA supplementation was also found to produce a 1% increase in lean body mass as well. Thus CLA is an effective ingredient to help achieve and maintain a healthy body weight and body composition.

Although the improved body composition effects of CLA has been observed in many clinical studies in adult populations, the effects on improving body composition in children at risk of being overweight or obese have not been explored. Thus, a recent study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of Clarinol CLA (supplied by Lipid Nutrition) on children at risk of being overweight or obese. For this study fifty-three children aged 6 to 10 years who were at risk of being overweight or obese (at or above the 85th percentile for BMI) were evaluated in a double blind placebo controlled trial. The children were randomized into two groups: a group that consumed chocolate milk with 3 g of Clarinol (CLA group, n=28) and a group that consumed chocolate milk with 3 g sunflower oil (placebo group, n=25). The milks were consumed once per day for six months and there were no dietary or physical activity interventions given. The measurements of the study included body composition (fat mass and lean mass) determined by Dual Energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), weight and BMI. After six months, the children consuming the chocolate milk with Clarinol CLA showed a significant improvement of BMI and body composition vs. the placebo group. In the growing children, the increase in BMI was 0.5 kg/m2 in the CLA group vs. 1.1 kg/m2 in the placebo group. This attenuation of BMI increases was largely due to decreases in fat mass. The percentages of total fat, abdominal fat and peripheral fat all significantly decreased in the children consuming chocolate milk with Clarinol CLA. In addition, lean body mass percentage significantly increased in the CLA group whereas lean body mass percentage decreased in the placebo group. The chocolate milk with Clarinol CLA was well tolerated and there were no differences in adverse events between the groups.

CLA has long been known to improve body composition in adults, however this is the first study to show positive effects on body composition with CLA as a food ingredient for children at risk of being overweight or obese. A unique attribute of CLA, versus many other weight management ingredients, is that CLA has a dual effect on improving body composition in that it decreases fat mass while also increasing lean body mass. In at risk children, this attribute, even if modest, may have profound long term benefits for both overall health and energy metabolism as the degree of fat mass in the body is linked to several chronic diseases and adding lean mass helps to burn more calories. Ultimately, as endeavors are undertaken to improve the health of at risk children, nutritional interventions may prove to be effective strategies to help reverse the trend of childhood obesity. As this is the first study to evaluate the effects of CLA in at risk children, further research is needed. Given the initial results, the use of an active food ingredient along with a healthy diet and exercise may be an effective tool to help at risk children achieve and maintain a healthy body composition.


This study is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Racine et al, Am J Clin Nutr doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.28404).

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