drugs

This just in: There is still no magic bullet for weight loss.

Canadian researchers analyzed the results from 30 trials where adults with an average weight of 100 kilograms (220 lbs) took anti-obesity drugs for a year or longer. The study was published in the British Medical Journal.

Weight loss from diet pills come with one fundamental requirement. To lose weight (and most likely maintain weight) you have to keep using them.

A drug such Orlistat (or it's cutdown OTC version Alli) will decrease absorption of fat by the intestines. Less fat means less calories. Less calories means weight loss.

So what happens when you stop taking the drug?

Research into the dieting habits of adolescents revealed that "dieting was a significant predictor of initiation of regular smoking among females."

The same effect was not found in males.

A new study published in The American Journal of Physiology - Endocrinology and Metabolism shows that the Symlin hormone, currently used to treat diabetes, can help people feel fuller and reduce the desire to binge and eat high-fat foods.

Wired Magazine reports on a new diet pill - a pill that expands into a gelatinous blob the "size of a tennis ball" after swallowing.

Sound appetizing?

Adderall is an amphetamine used to treat ADD/ADHD. Like many pharmaceutical medications, some of the side effects include loss of appetite and weight loss (particularly in adolescents).

A CNN story has highlighted the ethical concerns surrounding a doctors decision to prescribe the drug for the purpose of weight loss.

A good portion of emails I receive come from two types of people: Those who want to know where to get various diet pills, and those who are selling them.

Acomplia (Rimonabant), for example, is not yet approved by the FDA. However there are plenty of black marketeers out there who are happy to send you the drug - at least you hope it's the right drug.

Can you be really sure what's in these pills?

Good news for diabetics? One study found that type II diabetics taking 192 g of Topamax, a popular anti-seizure drug, lost 6.6 percent of their body weight over the course of a year.

It's a sad sign of the times when we have obesity medication for pets.

The FDA has approved a new drug from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. The drug is called Slentrol. ...the new drug, called a selective microsomal triglyceride transfer protein inhibitor, is only for dogs. How it works is not well understood, but it blocks absorption of fat and seems to control appetite. It is given in liquid form under a veterinarian's close supervision. (via Washington Post)The pill will cost $1 to $2 per day and will come with strict warnings in case people get tempted to swallow the pill themselves. In people, the drug can cause adverse reactions including abdominal pain, diarrhea, flatulence, headaches, nausea and vomiting.

The University of Minnesota reports that diet pill use among teenage girls has doubled over the last 5 years.

What is fueling this obsession with pills?

Early results from a clinical trial of a new drug called "Contrave" show a 7.5% weight loss over 24 weeks. The placebo group experienced only a 1% weight loss.

The president of the American Obesity Association believes that the future of obesity is drugs. Define obesity as a disease, and big pharma will fall over themselves to prescribe a drug cure.

In a superb article, Wired magazine delves deeply into the insidious promotion of obesity as a disease and how the pharmaceutical companies are heavily involved in the lobbying.

The race is on for a pill that will maintain muscle mass.

A number of research groups have identified the genes responsible for muscle wasting. While there may be valid medical applications for such drugs - I can almost hear a collective sigh from exercise-haters worldwide.

Once upon a time bodybuilding was about lifting weights, good nutrition, and attaining good muscular symetry and form. Nowadays it's just another form of drug abuse.

Start making too many comments about "Big Pharma" and people think you're a conspiracy theorist. However - it's right to be a little suspicious about the pharmaceutical industry. The amounts of money poured into drug marketing are so huge as to be incomprehensible.

It becomes all too easy to gloss over the worst side effects - such as a recent death linked to Sibutramine (Meridia).

The FDA has finally added its voice to the furore over the so-called Brazilian Diet Pills. The pills are named either Emagrece Sim or Herbathin. Whilst claiming to be made from all-natural herbal products - they are most definitely not dietary supplements. Both products are made in Brazil by Fitoterapicos (also spelled Fytoterapicos) and Phytotherm Sim. FDA has increased its efforts to prevent the importation of these products by issuing an alert to its field personnel.