Weight Loss News 2016: Anti-Obesity Pills are Ineffective and Could Pose Health Risks
Weight loss pills could have dangerous side effects, which that could lead to cardiac failure and even death.
According to Dick Bijl, president of the International Society of Drug Bulletins, cases of obesity and being overweight in adults, as well as in children, are increasing at an unprecedented rate all over the world. Bijl cites energy imbalances as the main reason for being overweight. It is the condition wherein people take more calories that they can burn. He stresses that being overweight leads to numerous health risks, among them cardiovascular illness and cancers. The condition could also be fatal.wherein people take more calories that they can burn, as the main reason for being overweight. He stresses that being overweight leads to numerous health risks among them cardio vascular illness and cancers. The condition could also be fatal.
Because of these deadly risks, consumers turn to diet pills and diet programs to reduce weight. What they do not know is that using weight loss pills and diet fads are risky and most of the time, would yield poor results.
Weight loss pills do not work
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Reports say that weight loss pills will not work and at the same time, could cause fatal side effects.
One such pill is Dinitrophenol, which is marketed as a safe and effective weight loss pill in the U.S. and Europe. Dinitrophenol reduces weight by making cells less efficient in taking in energy; energy is burned off instead as heat. People by the thousands used this drug, but after four years it was removed from shelves because of reports of complete or partial loss of vision due to the development of cataracts.
Other weight loss pills that have been removed from the market due to their serious side effects were aminorex in the 1960s, dexfenfluramine in the 1970s, and rimonabant in 2008. Aminorex was pulled out from the shelves because it causes pulmonary hypertension, while dexfenfluramine was removed as it brings about cardiac valve disorders. And lastly, rimonabant was found to produce adverse psychiatric effects, to name a few.
Orlistat is a very popular diet pill, but the effectiveness and side effects are questionable. It has been known to have marginal efficacy and users report gastrointestinal effects, severe liver damage, and other life-threatening effects.
Naltrexon/bupropion and liraglutide were recently given the go signal for the treatment of obesity. However, these products were only able to provide four to five kilograms of weight loss. Reports said that these effects are not worth the long-term health risks of the drugs.
Caution in the use of herbal preparations
A large number of herbal preparations were also promoted. But great caution is advised to users because many of these have not been intensely studied before they were released in the market. Preparations containing ephedra caused a lot of trouble in the past because this chemical can trigger hypertension and myocardial infarction and have other effects to the central nervous system.
Non-drug interventions and promising discoveries
Dietary counseling and physical training or exercise have been known to aid weight loss. They are safe and are known as the first option for most physicians. Bijl explains that the ultimate solution should focus on changes in lifestyle and prevention of obesity. There is no shortcut. Those who wish to reduce weight should adhere to proper diet, regular exercise, and lifestyle changes.
He also said that if there was a pill to solve obesity and being overweight, they would already have it. There is no instant pill for weight loss, the report concluded.
