TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR CHROMIUM - Davidborowski.com

CHROMIUM 1702. HEALTH EFFECTSSeveral studies have also looked at the relationship between weight loss or increases in lean body mass insedentary adults and chromium picolinate supplementation. Kaats et al. (1992) reported an improvementin body composition (loss of body fat without a loss of lean body mass) in obese subjects consuming400 µg chromium(III)/day as chromium picolinate for 72 days. In contrast to these studies, Grant et al.(1997) found a significant increase in body weight gain with no change in percent body fat or fat freemass in sedentary, young, obese women consuming 400 µg chromium(III)/day as chromium picolinatefor 9 weeks. If the women participated in a exercise program, then no significant alterations in bodyweight, percent body fat, fat mass, or fat free mass were observed. Proponents of chromium picolinatesupplementation have made numerous claims as to the benefits of chromium picolinate for weight lossand increasing lean body mass. However, for the most part, clinical studies have not supported theseclaims (Campbell et al. 1999; Clancy et al. 1994; Grant et al. 1997; Hallmark et al. 1996; Lukaski et al.1996; Trent and Thielding-Cancel 1995). The potential toxicity of chromium picolinate has not beenthoroughly investigated. An intermediate-duration rat study did not find any adverse effects in ratsingesting #9 mg chromium(III)/kg/day as chromium picolinate in the diet (Anderson et al. 1997b).Wasser et al. (1997) reported a case of an individual with chronic renal failure following ingestion of0.6 mg/day (approximately 0.085 mg/kg/day) of chromium picolinate supplements for 6 weeks. Thisdose is 3 times the recommended doses for dietary supplements and 12–45 times the usual intake. Thus,individuals using these supplements are cautioned to avoid taking more than recommended doses.The general population is exposed to chromium by inhaling ambient air, ingesting food, and drinkingwater containing chromium. Dermal exposure of the general public to chromium can occur from skincontact with certain consumer products or soils that contain chromium. As discussed in Section 5.4,ambient air in U.S. urban and nonurban areas typically contains mean total chromium concentrationsranging from 0.01 to 0.03 µg/m 3 . The levels of chromium in U.S. river waters typically range from