Are there any large, randomized clinical trials since 2010 testing gelatin or collagen peptides for long‑term weight loss or maintenance?
Executive summary
The evidence base since 2010 contains multiple randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews that examine collagen peptides or gelatin for body composition and short-term fat loss, but no large, long‑duration randomized clinical trial specifically designed and powered to test gelatin or collagen peptides for long‑term weight loss or weight‑maintenance has been identified in the provided records [1] [2] [3]. Most human trials are small-to-moderate in size, short in duration (typically 8–12 weeks), and often pair supplementation with exercise or measure body‑composition proxies rather than long‑term weight maintenance outcomes [2] [3] [4].
1. What the question actually asks and why it matters
The user requests large, randomized clinical trials since 2010 that test gelatin or collagen peptides specifically for long‑term weight loss or maintenance — a narrow query that requires attention to three elements in each study: randomized design, sample size large enough to detect sustained weight change, and duration long enough to address maintenance rather than transient shifts; the available literature emphasizes short interventions and body‑composition endpoints rather than long‑term weight maintenance per se [2] [3].
2. What the randomized trials actually look like
Randomized trials of collagen peptides since 2010 exist, but they are predominantly short (commonly 8–12 weeks) and modest in sample size; for example, a double‑blind, placebo‑controlled trial of collagen peptide supplementation in adults ≥50 used a 12‑week intervention with initial enrollment numbers in the tens and reported several dropouts (84 eligible with 10 dropouts noted) rather than hundreds or thousands typical of “large” weight‑loss trials [2]. Other RCTs test collagen combined with resistance training for improvements in muscle mass or regional strength over weeks to months rather than testing long‑term weight maintenance [3] [5].
3. Outcomes measured: body composition vs. durable weight loss
Most trials measure body composition, muscle strength or metabolic markers and sometimes report reductions in body fat mass, not sustained weight loss or relapse prevention beyond the intervention window; meta‑analyses and systematic reviews aggregate such trials but highlight heterogeneity in design, endpoints and short follow‑up, limiting inference about long‑term weight maintenance [1] [3] [4].
4. Systematic reviews and meta‑analyses: signal but not definitive for weight maintenance
Systematic reviews identify multiple RCTs testing collagen peptides’ effects on body composition and recovery after exercise, and they summarize some benefits for fat mass or strength in specific populations, but these reviews underscore that trials are varied in dose, population, and concomitant exercise and that evidence for sustained weight loss or maintenance is absent or inconclusive given trial durations and sizes [1] [3] [4].
5. Ongoing trials and other endpoints (skin, glycemic control, appetite physiology)
ClinicalTrials registry entries and recent publications show ongoing and completed RCTs exploring skin outcomes, metabolic signals, appetite hormones and short‑term body‑composition changes with collagen or gelatin supplements, and some mechanistic studies report effects on satiety hormones like GLP‑1 after single doses — but these do not equate to large, long‑term randomized trials of weight‑loss maintenance [6] [7] [8] [9].
6. Conflicts, heterogeneity, and practical limitations in existing research
Many trials are industry‑funded or test specific collagen preparations and doses, producing heterogeneity that complicates pooling and real‑world translation; systematic reviewers note variable quality, small samples and short follow‑up, and clinical endpoints relevant to sustained weight loss (relapse rates, one‑year weight maintenance) are largely missing from the available RCT evidence [1] [3] [4].
7. Bottom line — the precise answer
No, the assembled records do not show any large, long‑duration randomized clinical trials since 2010 that directly test gelatin or collagen peptides for long‑term weight loss or weight‑maintenance; the literature contains many small-to-moderate RCTs and systematic reviews focused on short‑term body‑composition changes, exercise recovery, skin outcomes or metabolic signals, but not large, long‑term randomized weight‑maintenance trials [2] [1] [3] [4]. If the goal is clinical guidance on sustained weight loss maintenance, current collagen/gelatin RCTs do not provide the definitive, large‑scale randomized evidence required.