“Miracle” diet pills on the horizon
In a story that might be a bit what Gary Schwitzer was talking about when he lamented the quality of health reporting on television, “Nightline” recently looked at a new slate of diet drugs expected to be on the market in a year or more, all of which hold promise to help people shed weight more easily than with diet and exercise alone.
New drug possibilities
Recent drug trials have focused on three new diet pills: Qnexa, which combines the appetite suppressant phentermine with an epilepsy drug that is supposed to make people feel fuller; Contrave, a combo appetite suppressant and drug to speed weight loss; and Lorcaserin, which is supposed to switch off hunger signals in the brain and help users maintain their metabolism.
The “Nightline” story looked at two successful users of the drug Qnexa. Sixty-year-old active mom of four Meg Evans played soccer but was still 232 pounds thanks to her unwillingness to eat healthier foods. And 42-year-old dad Chris Dickerson said that at 343 pounds he was too tired to play with his kids.
After taking part in the study, Dickerson weighed in at 270 pounds and had the energy to coach his son’s football team. Evans dropped to 177 and said her blood pressure was down and her knees felt better.
Qnexa is the drug of the three that has shown the most dramatic results so far, with an average weight loss of 14.7 percent in one year. Contrave showed weight loss between 8.1 and 11.5 percent in a year, and Lorcaserin users lost and average of 8 percent of their weight.
Not so fast
While this story naturally paints a rosy picture of weight-loss drugs, there are always potential problems. For instance, none of these drugs have yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, so there’s no telling when or if they will hit the market. The drugmakers report no serious side effects, but further study may pick something up.
The story only highlights people who had success with the drug, but such drugs never work dramatically for everyone. And, as is noted in the story, it’s possible that once someone is on one of these drugs, they’ll need to keep taking them for the long-term, perhaps even for life, to be able to keep the weight off. And at this point no one knows what effect that would have on the health of a patient.
So while it’s great to consider the possibilities of a weight-loss drug that makes it easy to lose however much excess weight you need to, it’s important to remember the reality isn’t always so rosy as the news stories would have you believe.
(By Sarah E. White for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)
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