Date of Award

Spring 5-11-2012

Degree Type

Honors College Thesis

Department

Human Performance and Recreation

First Advisor

Geoffrey Hudson

Advisor Department

Human Performance and Recreation

Abstract

Since obesity is a significant problem that is facing the American people, there has been great interest in trying to develop a successful health supplement to help counteract the effects of obesity. Xanthigen is a new supplement composed of brown seaweed extract and pomegranate seed oil and is theorized to increase resting energy expenditure and decrease BMI and body fat. This study involved a 16‐week supplementation protocol to examine the effects of Xanthigen supplementation on an obese population in the Mississippi area. Testing of resting energy expenditure, BMI, and body fat percentage took place every four weeks for 16 weeks. At the end of the intervention, the results did show a significant decrease in weight loss and BMI overall; however, Xanthigen did not prove effective at accelerating these losses. Moreover, the results did not a show the expected decreases in body fat percentage or an increase in resting energy expenditure. Due to these results, further research must be done in order to find out if Xanthigen really does have the capabilities to help fight the effects of obesity. Future studies are focusing on the decreased respiratory quotient and the decreased systolic blood pressure effects from the Xanthigen supplementation found during this study.

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