Fish Oil Weight Loss Can fish oil help you lose weight? Hopes were raised after several animal and human studies suggested a mild weight-loss benefit derived from supplementing the diet with fish oil supplements. But, according to a recent study conducted at the Cooper Institute in Dallas, Texas, any hope of weight loss through omega-3 fatty acids appears to be just another fishy tale!1-4

Fish Oil Weight Loss

The clinical trial published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition began with 128 participants with a Body Mass Index (BMI) between 26 and 40. Participants in the study were randomly assigned to two groups—one which received a placebo and the other which received omega-3 supplementation daily. Both groups received dietary and exercise counseling. After 24 weeks, only 81 participants (total of both groups) completed the trial and showed a loss of BMI by 5 percent. The group that was given omega-3 supplements did not fare any better in weight loss than the group that was given the placebo. The study concluded that supplementing the diet with omega-3 supplementation did not result in fish oil weight loss, but the overall cardiovascular benefits of omega-3 fatty acids in overweight individuals were still found to be significant. While the omega-3 fish oil weight loss therapy may not be effective for losing fat, researchers advocate a daily dose of omega 3 fatty acids to promote cardiovascular health in people who are overweight. 5


Decades of research affirm that a higher dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids has a protective influence on cardiovascular health. The mounting evidence from these studies suggests that fish oil may not deliver omega-3 weight loss, but may significantly help overweight people enter the low risk cardiovascular category. These heart-protective effects have been well-documented:

  1. • Studies show that omega-3 benefits on cardiovascular health may be attributed to their anti-inflammatory and anti-clotting properties. 6
  2. • A moderate intake of omega-3 fatty acids has been associated with higher levels of DHA in the blood. This slows down the progression of the thickening of the artery walls caused by an accumulation of LDL (bad cholesterol). 7
  3. • Omega-3 fatty acids are believed to help reduce triglyceride and LDL levels in the blood, thus possibly lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease. 8
  4. • Another heart-protective effect of omega-3 supplements may be that of lowering the incidence of irregular heartbeats. 9
  5. • Several studies suggest that patients with diabetes and metabolic syndrome may benefit from omega-3 supplementation. The metabolic syndrome affects approximately 44 percent of people, aged 50 and above. It is a diagnosis given to people who have one or more specific risk factors, many of which are weight-related. 10-12

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    References:
    1. 1. Reduced adipose 18:3 omega 3 with weight loss by very low calorie dieting, Lipids. 1990 Dec;25(12):798-806.
    2. 2. Marine omega-3 fatty acid intake: associations with cardiometabolic risk and response to weight loss intervention in the Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) study, Diabetes Care. 2010 Jan;33(1):197-9. Epub 2009 Oct 19.
    3. 3. Fish oil for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, Cardiol Rev. 2010 Sep-Oct;18(5):258-63.
    4. 4. Weight Loss via exercise with controlled dietary intake may affect phospholipid profile for cancer prevention in murine skin tissues, Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2010 Apr;3(4):466-77. Epub 2010 Mar 16.
    5. 5. Effects of omega-3 supplementation in combination with diet and exercise on weight loss and body composition, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.110.002741
    6. 6. Docosahexaenoic acid but not eicosapentaenoic acid lowers ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate in humans, Hypertension. 1999 Aug;34(2):253-60.
    7. 7. Effects of varying dietary fat, fish, and fish oils on blood lipids in a randomized controlled trial in men at risk of heart disease, Am J Clin Nutr. 1994 May;59(5):1060-8.
    8. 8. Ibid.
    9. 9. Dietary Fish and n-3 Fatty Acid Intake and Cardiac Electrocardiographic Parameters in Humans, J Am Coll Cardiol, 2006; 48:478-484, doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2006.03.048 (Published online 11 July 2006).
    10. 10. n-3 fatty acids and the metabolic syndrome, Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Jun;83(6 Suppl):1499S-1504S.
    11. 11. NCEP-defined metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and prevalence of coronary heart disease among NHANES III participants age 50 years and older, Diabetes. 2003 May;52(5):1210-4.
    12. 12. Prevalence of the Metabolic Syndrome Among US Adults, JAMA. 2002;287(3):356-359. doi: 10.1001/jama.287.3.356