VANCOUVER, May 9 (CNW)-- Calorie counting consumers fighting the battle ofthe bulge may have a new weapon in the fight against fat.Canadian biotechnology company Forbes Medi-Tech Inc. has developed acooking oil, which in a recently completed clinical trial was shown tohelp people lose weight and lower their cholesterol levels.In a clinical study conducted at McGill University in Montreal, 24 healthymen on a controlled diet incorporating Forbes' "designer oil" showed astatistically significant (p less than 0.05) decrease in total body weighttissue volumes in the range of 0.36 to 0.51 kg (0.8 lbs. and 1.1 lbs.) in28 days. Study participants who received olive oil in their diet (controlgroup) did not demonstrate any changes in body compartment volumes. Inaddition, consumption of designer oil resulted in a decrease of LowDensity Lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol concentrations of 16.3 per cent."This is the first statistically significant data demonstrating designeroil's ability to reduce body weight. Generally, fats and oils contributeto body weight gain not reduction. Forbes' designer oil could be used as afat replacement for people trying to manage their weight with the addedbenefit of reducing LDL cholesterol levels, and thus providing aprotective effect against cardiovascular disease, a significant riskfactor for overweight people," said Dr. Jerzy Zawistowski, Vice President,Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, Forbes Medi-Tech Inc. "The studyfindings also indicate that long-term consumption of designer oil may leadto further body weight reduction than shown in the 28 day study."A large body of scientific evidence has shown that a diet high in fat isassociated with an increased incidence of obesity, coronary heart disease,hypertension, insulin resistance and certain cancers.Obesity continues to be a growing problem in North America and is reachingepidemic proportions. In 1999, an estimated 61 per cent of U.S. adultswere classified as overweight or obese (BMI greater than 25). Some 300,000Americans die each year from illnesses attributed to obesity (compared tomore than 400,000 deaths a year associated with cigarette smoking). Thetotal direct and indirect costs attributed to overweight and obesity inthe U.S. amounted to US$117 billion in the year 2000.Forbes' designer oil (patent pending in the US and worldwide) hasdemonstrated good sensory properties and oxidative stability and issuitable as a cooking oil. Forbes Medi-Tech is currently in discussionswith food companies in both North America and the Far East who have aninterest in marketing its designer oil. Sales of healthy cooking oils inJapan alone reached 20 billion JPY (US$150 million) in 2001.Forbes' designer oil is formulated with medium chain triglycerides (MCT),plant phytosterols, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. "Medium chaintriglycerides are metabolized in the body differently than other types offats," noted Dr. Peter Jones, Professor, School of Dietetics and HumanNutrition, McGill University. "These oils are oxidized very quickly andburned as energy rather than stored as body fat. The inclusion of plantphytosterols into the oil helps block the absorption of cholesterolresulting in a significant reduction in total and LDL cholesterol."The designer oil clinical study involved 24 healthy men aged 26 to 61years with body mass index (BMI) between 25 and 31 kg/m(2). Studyparticipants were placed on a controlled diet of designer oil or olive oilfor 28 days and switched to the alternate diet after a four-week washoutperiod. Blood samples and magnetic resonance imaging scans were taken ondays 1 and 29 of each experimental phase and energy expenditure wasmeasured by respiratory gas exchange on days 2 and 28.This was the second clinical study Forbes conducted on designer oil. In astudy of 17 healthy, overweight women conducted between October 1999 andMay 2000, the designer oil diet reduced LDL cholesterol levels by 14.5 percent with a corresponding increase in energy expenditure. Forbescommissioned the latest study to determine whether the increased energyexpenditure seen in the original study was statistically indicative ofweight loss. The results of the new study confirm this.Results of this new designer oil clinical study were presented at theInternational Society for the Study of Fats and Lipids (MP) AmericanChemical Society Annual Meeting in Montreal, Quebec, May 5 and 6, 2002.Study results will also be presented to the Institute of Food Technologyin Anaheim, California on June 15-19, 2002, and the International OilCongress in Istanbul, Turkey, August 12-15, 2002.Forbes Medi-Tech Inc. is a diversified health sciences company dedicatedto the research, development and commercialization of innovativenutraceutical and pharmaceutical products derived from nature. Byextracting plant sterols from wood pulping by-products, Forbes isdeveloping cholesterol-lowering agents to be used both as functional foodingredients and pharmaceutical therapeutics in the battle against heartdisease. Forbes is also developing innovative fermentation technology thatconverts plant sterols into pharmaceutical fine chemicals, essential inthe production of various pharmaceutical steroids such as contraceptiveagents and anti-inflammatories. Phytrol(TM) is a registered trademark ofForbes Medi-Tech Inc.The NASDAQ National Market and the Toronto Stock Exchange have notreviewed and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy ofthe content of this News Release. This Press Release containsforward-looking statements concerning anticipated revenue to be receivedby the Company, and other information in future periods. Forward-lookingstatements are statements about the future and are inherently uncertain,and actual achievements of the Company and other results and occurrencesmay differ materially from those reflected in the forward-lookingstatements due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors,including, without limitation, the Company's need for funding by the thirdquarter of 2002, which funding may not be available to the Company onacceptable terms or at all, uncertainty that the purchaser of the Amquiproperty will make the scheduled payments on time or at all, or that thepurchase and sale transaction will close as anticipated or at all; risksrespecting the completion and outcome of clinical trials; regulatoryrisks; marketing / manufacturing risks; strategic alliance risks;intellectual property risks; risks inherent in functional food andpharmaceutical research and clinical trials which may cause any particularresearch projects and/or clinical trials to be discontinued; the need tocontrol costs and the possibility of unanticipated expenses; uncertaintyas to the Company's ability to successfully increase production quantitiesof AD / ADD on a cost effective basis; risks with respect to foreignoperations including changes in government policies; the need forregulatory approvals to market the Company's sterol-based food ingredient;uncertainty as to market acceptance of the Company's products and theCompany's ability to generate projected sales volumes and product prices;the need for continued cooperation and performance by the Company'sstrategic partners; uncertainty as to the successful conclusion of salesdiscussions currently underway, and of those anticipated, with third partypurchasers. The Company's forward-looking statements are based on thebeliefs, expectations and opinions of management on the date thestatements are made, and the Company does not assume any obligation toupdate forward-looking statements if circumstances or management'sbeliefs, expectations or opinions should change. For the reasons set forthabove, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-lookingstatements./For further information: please contact: Martin Livingston, Director,Investor Relations, Telephone: (604) 681-8976, E-mail:irinfo@forbesmedi.com; RJ (Don) MacDonald, Chief Financial Officer,Telephone: (604) 689-5899, E-mail: dmacdonald@forbesmedi.com/

(The informations and opinions expressed in this article represent theviews of the author only. They should not be seen as necessarilyreflecting the views of Palm News)