Spin Cycle

Posted By elissa on Feb 17, 2010 | 4 comments

I just stumbled over this article, “New Weight Loss Can Burn Caloric Equivalent to 20-Minute Walk” – and had to check it out.

The exact mechanism of how spices work to influence metabolism still remains unclear, but studies suggest that they effectively increase body temperature thus making us burn more calories even without exercising. Now if only scientists could find a way to combine the two methods into an easy to swallow pill.

In fact—they have! It’s called the tri-pepper blend and according to Joel T. Cramer, assistant professor of exercise physiology from the University of Oklahoma, the new weight loss supplement has the potential to burn as many calories as a 20-minute walk. Cramer says General Nutrition Centers contracted with the University to test the benefits of the supplement.

Googling the Tri-Pepper blend, I came up with a number of shorter articles, but similar in tone (one example here). All the ones I looked at repeated – without question or analysis – the same “20-minute walk” claim. 

But before we pop the champagne corks in celebration, perhaps we should take a closer look at exactly what that means.  Just how many calories does a 20 minute walk actually burn?

The answer is, not too damn many. According to this table from the Harvard Medical School, walking at a 3.5 mile per hour pace for 30 minutes would burn 120, 149 and 178 calories, respectively, for people weighing 125 pounds, 155 pounds and 185 pounds.  To get the figures for 20 minutes, we need to multiply by 2/3, or 0.67.  That comes out to approx. 80, 100 and 120 calories for a person of each weight.

Push it to 4.0 mph (a fairly brisk walk), and you end up with 90, 112 and 134 calories, respectively.  Assuming they’re not compensated for, those numbers are good for about an extra pound or so of fat each month.

So while the increase seen with the tri-pepper supp was certainly statistically significant, it’s hardly a miracle, and certainly not a replacement for exercise.

Talk about spin… I can just see the GNC ads now: “Exercise in a bottle” – but it just ain’t so. Sure, every little bit helps, but a supp like this isn’t going to provide more than a nudge in the right direction. Claiming it’s equivalent to a 20-minute walk makes it sound a lot better than it actually is.