Diet Pill Frenzy

A New York Times article outlines the multi-million dollar quest to develop "the" diet drug:

"Everybody is just foaming at the mouth to make money" from obesity drugs, said Dr. Donna Ryan, an obesity researcher...

What's disturbing is that the drug-makers are greedy for as huge a market as possible:

But many drug industry analysts see a potentially even bigger market if such a drug also catches on among the more than 60 percent of adults in this country who are statistically overweight, those with a body mass index of 25 or more. Many experts also see a likelihood - some would say danger - that such a drug might appeal to millions who are by no means fat but would like to drop a few pounds.

Drop a few pounds? When will we get over the "magic pill" way of thinking. It's been going on for 40 years (as the article points out), starting with amphetamines, then the fen-phen debacle. Modern drugs like Meridia and Xenical (with it's "Fatty Stools and Flatulence") have their fair share of side effects.

Reading through the personal stories in the article, nearly everyone seems to be making poor food choices, and could really do with a little education. Instead they are desperate for a little white pill:

...She had tried everything. Weight Watchers. A diet of cabbage soup. Even a four-day regimen of cauliflower, beets and hot dogs.

"If you followed it exactly, you lost 10 pounds," recalled Ms. Gallagher, 62. "But, oh, it was hard to get down." And it was always hard to keep the weight off, she said, because her retired husband does most of the cooking and his fare tends toward fried foods.

There is a place for obesity medication, but this place is by no means what the drug companies would have us believe. If you don't believe me, read this post.

More like this in Big Business and Diet Pills

2 Comments

Diet Pills

I agree, there is a place for diet medications...

As long as there are strict guidelines to restrict who can take these medications, diet drugs such as Phentermine, Didrex, Bontil, Meridia and Xenical should all be available to consumers. Currently, prescriptions are not available unless an individual has a BMI of 27 or greater. This is a good basic guideline, but it doesn't stop abuse.

Diet drugs should NOT be the first choice for anyone! Proper diet and exercise could solve most people's problems if they had the will and determination. But since most people don't, these drugs end up being abused and used for the wrong reasons; giving them a bad 'wrap'.

Until there is a diet medication with no side effects, diet and exercise should be people's #1 priority!

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sharron taylor

you try exercising when you have arthritus in the spine and want to loose weight. okay yes diet can be monitered but it is not always enough

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