"Chromium picolinate has NO EFFECT on building muscle, reducing body fat, changing body composition, decreasing weight or increasing strength." These are the findings reported April 29, 1994 at the North Dakota Academy of Science by Hank Lukaski, Research Leader at the US Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center in Grand Forks, ND.
If this has been known for at least a year, why is chromium picolinate still so "hot?" Because it has been aggressively marketed using such claims as "Lose the fat, keep the muscle," "No dieting, no exercise required," "Melts the fat away," and "Metabolic rate is raised to burn off more calories." In our weight-conscious society, claims like this sell products. Period.
The research conducted on chromium picolinate has found it to neither add nor detract from a person's health and fitness level. In one study, thirty five healthy men between ages 18 and 30 participated in an eight-week vigorous strength training program. The 35 men were divided into three groups: one received chromium picolinate, the second chromium chloride, and the third a placebo (blank pill). Although all three groups gained strength, meticulous testing found no differences between the weight, body composition or strength among the three groups.
If you read the brochures for chromium picolinate, they state: exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet and take chromium picolinate. If your goal is to get in shape, do the first two and forget the third. You don't need to pry chrome bumpers off of old cars