NUTRITIONISTS have called for greater regulation of the Lipotrim weight-loss programme being sold in pharmacies. While it is designed to help the clinically obese lose at least a stone a month, it is just as popular with thinner women and brides-to-be who are eager to emulate the “size-zero” image made fashionable by the likes of Victoria Beckham and Nicole Richie.

Followers of the Lipotrim programme pay the 163 pharmacies that sell the product at least ¤82 for a week’s worth of sachets containing meal-replacement milkshakes and soup, then ¤65 for each following week. Dieters are told not to eat or drink anything else for at least two weeks or until they reach their target weight, at which point a maintenance diet is introduced.

Howard Foundation Research, the UK company that makes the product, claims the sachets provide dieters with enough nutrients to survive on 450 calories a day. Generally 2,000 calories a day are required by women and 2,500 by men.

But Margot Brennan from the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute said: “The body’s first response to low energy intake is to break down muscle and you can’t select where that muscle is coming from. It might be from the heart or lungs.

“Not all pharmacies are monitoring use of Lipotrim properly. The product is compliant with legislation but the legislation itself is weak.”

Nicola Grant, 32. People are not classified as being overweight until they have a BMI of more than 25.

Grant did not eat for five days on the programme but gave up after experiencing “severe dizziness”.

“The person that I dealt with in the pharmacy did comment that I was within the healthy weight range but did not say that I should not start the programme,” she said.

Grant lost 5lb but put all the weight back on within two weeks. She has since lost weight by following a healthy eating plan.

“This is not a good way to lose weight,” said Kellie Collins, a nutritionist who has advised Gaelic football teams and developed weight-loss plans for Tesco Diets. “People want a quick fix. The side effects of low-calorie diets include hair loss and brittle nails, but nobody knows the long-term effects on the body.”

On the discussion forum of WeddingsOnline, brides-to-be and newlyweds extol the virtues of Lipotrim. “I just think of wanting to look my best when I am buying the most important dress of my life,” one woman said.

“It’s a hot topic among brides,” said Rachel Vowels, editor of WeddingsOnline, which has 40,000 registered users. “It is normal for a girl to want to shed pounds before her

wedding, and fad diets are bound to come up. In many of the forums about Lipotrim you will see brides discouraging its use, and warning about the negative side effects.”

The Howard Foundation said Lipotrim is restricted to “overweight and obese individuals who want to lose a significant amount of weight and must be monitored and controlled by pharmacists”. It says it trains and later inspects pharmacies to ensure that they screen potential patients and monitor their progress properly.

The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, which regulates the country’s pharmacies, said it hasn’t received any complaints about Lipotrim.

The Irish Medicines Board reviewed Lipotrim in July 2006 and concluded that it should be classified as a food and was therefore outside of its remit. It was then assessed by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), which deemed Lipotrim as compliant with national and European Union legislation.

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