The science supporting the use of a daily multivitamin has been stacking up. In the last year, we reported on a study that found that those who regularly consume a multivitamin are biologically younger than those who do not, and a separate study that found that long-term multivitamin use may reduce the risk of death due to cardiovascular disease. Now, a new study has found that multivitamins may aid weight loss.

The new randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study involved 87 obese Chinese women, aged 18 to 55, who randomly received one of three treatments: one tablet of multivitamin and mineral supplement; a calcium supplement (162 mg); or, an identical placebo, daily over the 26-week study period. The researchers then measured the effects of the two treatments against the placebo, looking at a large number of measurements. This rather exhausting list of measurements included body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, fat mass, fat-free mass, resting energy expenditure, respiratory quotient, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose and serum insulin, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol ("bad cholesterol"), HDL cholesterol ("good cholesterol"), and triglycerides -- all measured at baseline and at the end of the study.

The researchers found that, compared to the placebo group, the group who received the multivitamin supplement had significantly lower body weight, body mass index, fat mass, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. They also had significantly higher resting energy expenditure and HDL cholesterol. Additionally they also had a "borderline significant trend" of lower respiratory quotient and waist circumference. The women who received the calcium supplement only saw improvement in cholesterol; they had higher HDL cholesterol and lower LDL cholesterol levels compared to the placebo group.

The researchers concluded that these results "suggest that, in obese individuals, multivitamin and mineral supplementation could reduce [body weight] and fatness and improve serum lipid profiles, possibly through increased energy expenditure and fat oxidation. Supplementation of calcium alone (162 mg per day) only improved lipid profiles."

Whole Health offers seven different multivitamins; find the one that's right for you here.

1. Li, Y., C. Wang, et al. "Effects of multivitamin and mineral supplementation on adiposity, energy expenditure and lipid profiles in obese Chinese women." Int J Obes (Lond).