Lipozene is a weight loss supplement with distinctive blue pills, that's sold by a company called Obesity Research Institute LLC. The company claims to have sold over 35 million bottles of Lipozene, and describes the supplement as "America's #1 Diet Supplement."
But does Lipozene contain ingredients shown in research studies to cause weight loss? Does it contain any questionable additive ingredients? Does it cause side effects? And how do real users rate and describe the effects of Lipozene?
In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Lipozene and MetaboUp Plus (the brand's "metabolism booster") based on clinical studies to give our take on whether or not these supplements are likely to be effective.
We'll feature unsponsored Lipozene customer reviews, share our concerns about some of the manfuacturer's marketing practices, discuss the potential for side effects, and provide a cost comparison to show which retailer sells Lipozene for the best price.
Lipozene Ingredient Analysis
Amorphophallus konjac is the only active ingredient in Lipozene, at a dose of 1,500 milligrams (mg) per serving.
A clinical trial published in the Journal of Obesity found that konjac did not promote weight loss in overweight individuals. The study participants were taking 3.99 grams (g) daily, which is more than 200% of the amount contained in Lipozene.
However, a 2019 medical review concluded that konjac "can reduce the levels of glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure and can enable weight loss."
Some of the konjac doses used in clinical trials surveyed in the above-linked review were similar to that in Lipozene, which suggests that this ingredient is effectively dosed for weight loss.
The inactive ingredients in Lipozene are shown below:
FD&C Blue #1 is an artificial color, and some artificial colors are clinically shown to have negative health effects.
The above-linked medical review analyzed toxicity data on artificial colors, and concluded that "...all of the currently used dyes should be removed from the food supply and replaced, if at all, by safer colorings."
Titanium dioxide is a synthetic colorant that's banned in the EU for use as a food additive due to toxicity concerns, as we documented in our Skald review article.
Overall, we consider Lipozene potentially effective for weight loss given its active ingredients, however we don't currently recommend this supplement due to the inclusion of a synthetic colorant and titanium dioxide.
Questionable Marketing Practices
As referenced in the intro to this article, the manufacturer of Lipozene is a company called Obesity Research Institute, LLC.
At first glance, based on the seal shown above, a consumer may assume that the Obesity Research Institute is an independent trade group that certifies high-quality weight loss products. That's what we assumed when first noticing the seal on the Lipozene website.
We find this marketing practice to be questionable from an ethical perspective, because consumers may not be aware that this ribbon is actually from the manufacturer itself, given that the marketing material shown above looks like a "seal" or "award" from a distinct entity.
The Lipozene website also claims that the supplement is "clinically proven" to work, however we can't find the full clinical trial(s) anywhere on the Lipozene website at the time of updating this article.
The only reference to clinical trial data on the Lipozene website, at the time of updating this article, is a footer note with favorable results from what appears to be a company-funded study.
We recommend that consumers be extremely wary of favorable results from clinical trials funded by a supplement manufacturer, especially when the full trial isn't even clearly published.
Real People Try Lipozene
A YouTube creator named "Kiki's 30 Day Journeys" shared her experience taking Lipozene for weight loss:
A YouTube creator named "Kaysbeauty world" shared her experience taking Lipozene for weight loss:
Does Lipozene Cause Side Effects?
Since the clinical trial on Lipozene doesn't appear to be available in full, it's challenging to determine whether or not this supplement is likely to cause side effects.
However, we can make an educated guess based on its ingredients.
The only active ingredient in Lipozene is a type of fiber, at a relatively low dose, so we do not consider Lipozene likely to cause side effects in otherwise healthy adults.
Artificial dyes like Blue #1 are associated with hyperactivity in children according to a 2011 medical review, but we can't find studies suggesting similar effects in adults.
The FAQs page on Lipozene's website states the following:
"There are no known side effects when taking Lipozene."
MetaboUp Ingredient Analysis
The active ingredients in MetaboUp Plus, a "metabolism booster" sold on the Lipozene website, are shown above.
Vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 are the first two active ingredients in this formulation, and we can't locate any clinical research suggesting that B-vitamins cause weight loss, nor does the brand cite any on their product page at the time of updating this article.
Caffeine is an effective weight loss ingredient, but as we discussed in our Green Tea Fat Burner reviews article, it's more effective at higher doses than the 120 mg in MetaboUp Plus.
120 mg of caffeine is barely more than the dose from one cup of coffee.
Green tea extract is the first ingredient in a Proprietary Blend.
As this medical review summarized, while green tea extract may be effective for weight loss short-term, it may be a risky supplement because of the potential hepatotoxicity (liver-damaging) effects of high doses of polyphenols from green tea.
Guarana seed extract is clinically shown to be effective for weight loss, however it's challenging to determine if it will be in MetaboUp Plus, because the brand fails to publish the individual ingredient dose.
There is no inactive ingredient list on the Supplement Facts label, which we find to be confusing.
Most capsule supplements contain inactive ingredients like the capsule and filler material, and it's a consumer safety issue if Obesity Research Institute is failing to publish this information. We urge the company to clarify, and to publish the full inactive ingredient list if one exists.
Overall, we consider MetaboUp Plus to be potentially effective for weight loss, however we consider this to be an inferior formulation to Lipozene, because we're unable to identify any effectively dosed active ingredients.
Real Customers Review Lipozene
We consider Amazon to be a better resource for unbiased customer reviews than a brand's website.
The Lipozene 2-pack has been reviewed over 4,000 times on Amazon at the time of updating this article, with an average review rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars.
The top positive review from a verified purchaser is from an anonymous user who gives the supplement a 5/5 star rating, and claims it caused weight loss and helped them manage a medical condition:
"Lipozene really helps with exercise to keep weight down and that area intact."
The top negative review from a verified purchaser is from a user named "Rene" who gives the supplement a 1/5 star rating, and claims the product failed to induce weight loss:
"I have notice no change in weight since I started use this product"
Our Clean Weight Loss Picks
There are food-based nutrients which have been shown in medical studies to be effective for weight loss.
Dietary fiber was shown in a medical review published in The Journal of Nutrition to cause 16 pounds of weight loss in 6 months when combined with moderate caloric restriction (750 calories per day below baseline).
MBG Organic Fiber Potency+ is our top fiber pick because it's certified organic, provides 7 g of fiber per serving and costs under $1.85 per serving at the time of updating this article.
MCT oil was shown in a meta-study to cause more than one pound of weight loss over 10 weeks. This equates to potential annualized weight loss of 6 pounds per year with less than one tablespoon's worth of MCT oil per day.
Bulletproof MCT Oil is our top MCT oil product, because the only ingredient is MCT oil derived from coconuts. and it currently costs only $15.50 for over a month's worth of product.
Ginger intake "significantly decreased body weight" according to a 2019 meta-study on ginger and weight loss that analyzed data from 14 clinical trials.
Pique La Ginger is our top ginger product, because it's an organic tea in convenient crystallized form, and all that's needed is to pour the powder into a glass and add hot water.
All three of the products mentioned in this section are entirely free of additive ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy or unsafe.
Where to Buy Lipozene for the Best Price
Lipozene is sold at a variety of online retailers. Here's a price breakdown for a 2-pack at the time of updating this article:
EveryMarket: $93.61 (link)
Amazon: $57.95 (free shipping, link to official Amazon listing)
Brand website: $54.95 (free shipping, link)
The brand's website currently has the best price on Lipozene, at around 5% cheaper than Amazon.
Pros and Cons of Lipozene
Here are the pros and cons of Lipozene in our opinion:
Pros:
- Contains effective active ingredient
- Should support weight loss
- Unlikely to cause side effects
- Stimulant-free
Cons:
- Questionable marketing practices
- Full clinical trial is not clearly accessible on brand's website
- Lipozene contains artificial color
- Lipozene contains titanium dioxide
- Unclear if MetaboUp Plus has inactive ingredients
- MetaboUp Plus contains green tea extract
