Abstract
Background: Obesity is a predictor of early death and several serious health disorders. Managing obesity with herbal products containing CNS stimulants is increasing worldwide. Aim: In this survey we attempted to measure the level of public awareness regarding the possible harmful effects associated with herbal mixtures containing CNS stimulants to lose weight. Subjects and Methods: A randomized cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted by well-trained pharmacy students in Jordan. A total of 32,507 adults from various regions of Jordan were asked to fill a well-structured questionnaire of six parts about the harmful effects of commonly used herbal remedies intended for weight reduction. Results: Of the total respondents, 63.35% agreed that nervousness is associated with the administration of CNS stimulants-containing herbs. A higher percentage of highly educated participants agree that various health hazards are associated with consumption of such herbs compared to both participants of low and intermediate level of education. Differences in public awareness were also measured according to the nature of re-spondents' job and ethnicity. The data in the tables is descriptive only and no test of statistical significance in reporting intergroup differences was conducted. Conclusion: It can be concluded that although the level of awareness is reasonable, more efforts are required to improve public awareness on this issue.