The False Promise
of Weight Loss Drugs
July 26, 2005
Diet
pills and pharmaceuticals are probably not going
to be the answer for people looking to lose significant
weight for the long term, accoring to Jane Brody of
the New York Times. Brody summarizes a recent article
from The Journal of the American Dietetic Association
on diet pharmaceuticals. (CalorieLab Calorie Counter
News previously wrote about the diet drug “armamentarium”
and the search for diet drug cocktails).
In general, diet drugs of past and present, as well
as those on the horizon, seem to be effective, but not
always safe, for people who want to lose ten or twenty
pounds. But they tend to peter out after that. And the
weight tends to be regained if the often costly drugs
are stopped. Each drug has its own list of unpleasant
and sometimes dangerous side effects.
Brody concludes, “For the foreseeable future,
drugs are not likely to be the solution to obesity,
at least not by themselves.” She points out that
the author of the JADA article,
Dr. Susan Moyers, cautions that drugs must be accompanied
by diet and lifestyle changes and proper eating and
exercise habits. If this is the case, what is the contribution
of the drugs? Why not just change your diet and exercise
habits, and avoid the cost and side effects of the pills?
Source: http://www.calorielab.com
|
