Dangerous Diet

Some dieters using pregnancy hormone hCG as weight-loss aid.
On its front page, the New York Times (3/8, A1, Hartocollis) reports that some dieters are using injections of the pregnancy hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) as a dieting aid. "The regimen combines daily injections with a near-starvation diet, and patients, mostly women, are often enticed by promises that they can lose about a pound a day without feeling hungry." What's more, they are "frequently told that the hCG will prompt their bodies to carry away and metabolize fat that has been stored where they least want it -- in their upper arms, bellies and thighs." This is despite the fact that the Food and Drug Administration has warned that hCG has not been demonstrated to aid weight loss or redistribute fat more attractively.