weight. The chromium supplement did not
affect the change in skinfolds, circumferences
or strength. The authors suggested that the
chromium supplement may affect the females to
a greater extent because the dose per body
weight was higher for the females or that females
produce more insulin than males and would
therefore be more sensitive to chromium. The
greater effect for the females also could be due to
the fact that females may ingest less chromium
than males and have insufficient status.
However, this study did not assess chromium
ingestion. The authors also suggested that the
relatively large gains in muscle mass for
untrained subjects may have masked the effect of
the supplement for the males.
Clancyet al. (1994) examined the effects of
chromium picolinate in football players who
ingested 200mg · day–1or a placebo for 9 weeks
during spring training that included a weight-
lifting programme. This study improved upon
the prior studies in that hydrostatic weighing
was used to assess body composition and
urinary chromium excretion was assessed. The
results showed no significant difference in
lean body mass or strength between groups.
However, the subjects who ingested the supple-
ment had an increased level of chromium in the
urine at 4 and then 9 weeks of training. Whether
some of the chromium was retained is not
known, but the results suggest that a large
portion of the supplement was excreted, which
may indicate that the body stores were close to
optimal prior to supplementation. A near dupli-
cate study (Hallmark et al. 1996) to the Clancy
et al. study also reported no effects of 200mg
chromium picolinate on strength or lean body
mass after 12 weeks of resistance training, and
chromium excretion was increased in the supple-
mented group.
In the most well-controlled study of chromium
supplementation, Lukaski et al. (1996a) matched
subjects for specific physical and nutritional
characteristics and placed them into one of three
groups: placebo, chromium picolinate and
chromium chloride. The groups were studied
for 8 weeks while on a weight training pro-
348 nutrition and exercise
gramme. The two supplements similarly
increased serum chromium levels and urinary
chromium excretion. There was no difference
among the groups in body composition assessed
by dual X-ray absortiometry or in strength gain,
suggesting that the chromium supplement was
ineffective.Chromium supplementation and weight loss
Although chromium supplements received
initial attention as a means to gain muscle mass,
more recently they have been marketed as a
weight loss product. Two studies investigated
the effectiveness of chromium picolinate supple-
ments on fat loss. Trent and Thieding-Cancel
(1995) examined the effect of 16 weeks of
400 mg chromium picolinate or a placebo in Navy
personnel who exceeded the Navy percentage
body fat standards of 22% for men and
30% for women. During the 16 weeks, subjects
participated in a physical conditioning pro-
gramme. Body fat was determined only from
body circumference measures and height. No
significant difference in total exercise time or
dietary habits (a ratio of good to bad food
choices) was observed between the placebo
and chromium groups. The supplement was
found to be ineffective as a weight loss agent. The
authors stated that chromium picolinate was ‘not
a quick cure for obesity and perhaps not a
remedy at all’.
Kaatset al. (1996) had subjects ingest a placebo,
200 mg or 400mg chromium picolinate · day–1for
72 days. Subjects were free living. Body composi-
tion was assessed by hydrostatic weighing and a
body composition index (BCI) was calculated by
adding the loss of body fat and gain in nonfat
mass and subtracting fat gained and lean lost. At
the end of the 72 days, both supplemented
groups had demonstrated high positive changes
in BCIs compared to the placebo, with no differ-
ence between groups taking the 200 or the 400mg.
These authors concluded that chromium supple-
mentation did improve body composition.
However, further studies are needed to confirm
these results.