Profile of individuals who use medicinal plants and herbal medicines for weight loss

Abstract

Introduction: Obesity is one of the biggest public health problems in the world, affecting people of all age groups and economic classes. In this scenario, the use of herbal medicines as a strategy for weight loss has been growing, mainly due to easy access. Objective: to evaluate the profile of individuals who have already used herbal medicines for weight loss, how was the orientation for use, which varieties are most used, adverse reactions, association with other strategies and results achieved. Materials and methods: cross-sectional study with 102 volunteers, carried out using an adapted questionnaire containing the Kakeshita Silhouette Scale, available online on social networks. Discussion and results: predominance of 87.3% of women and mean age of 39 (±10.5) years. In terms of nutrition, 71.6% were overweight and 95.1% were dissatisfied with their bodies. 77% made use of herbal medicines on their own initiative, with green tea, hibiscus and horsetail being the most used; 25.5% had an adverse reaction and 68.6% lost weight during use. Education level (p=0.006), physical activity practice (p=0.035) and diet adoption (p=0.0003) were variables that showed significance when statistically associated with the weight loss variable. Conclusion: most participants are overweight, even after using herbal medicines. The association between physical activity and diet with the weight loss variable was a finding that reinforces the importance of changing habits for sustainable weight loss, with herbal medicines as adjuvants and always prescribed by a health professional.