The US FDA Has At Last Approved An Over-The-Counter Diet Pill For Obesity

The First Over-The Counter Diet Pill For Obesity Has Arrived

The Food and Drug Administration has finally approved a diet pill which is available over-the-counter and which is designed for adults suffering from obesity. But just how effective is this new pill going to be and will it be the answer for the many thousands of obese people who find that losing weight is exceptionally hard work?

To some degree we already have the answers to these questions as this is not a new drug at all but is one that has been in wide use in the United States for several years. The drug, known as Orlistat, is in actuality merely a half-dose version of the currently available prescription drug marketed as Xenical.

The normal route to weight loss for obesity sufferers is for doctors to start by recommending a regime of diet and exercise and, where this route is not successful, to move on to help sufferes with a variety of drugs including Xenical. As a last resort, if this does not work, patients may be offered morbid obesity surgery as the ultimate solution to their weight problem. This brief look at the background to treating morbid obesity gives an idea of precisely how this obesity pill is to be used.

Regardless of what people might want this is most certainly not a matter of taking a pill daily and magically losing weight. Orlistat works in part by stopping the absorption of fat and is at its most efficient when taken three times a day with meals containing about fifteen grams of fat. If taken will meals containing in excess of the recommended fifteen grams of fat taking Orlistat may produce bowel problems.

Use of Orlistat can also hamper the absorption of some vitamins and users are advised to take daily multivitamin supplements. The drug is not advised for individuals taking any sort of blood thinning medication or under treatment for diabetes or thyroid problems.

In the absence of an accompanying diet and exercise program Orlistat will have very little or no affect at all and you are only going to receive any benefit from its use together with a strict diet and exercise program. But, even here the results are likely to be marginal and a lot of people question whether the likely results (which are predicted from the known results experienced with Xenical) make the use of Orlistat a worthwhile operation.

Possibly one further question we need to ask is exactly why the FDA has approved this drug for over-the-counter use at this time. Obesity rates are now increasing at epidemic proportions and there is considerable pressure to find a solution to this problem before it literally runs out of control. Many people believe that the licensing of Orlistat for over-the-counter use is nothing more than the FDA's reaction to public pressure.

Should Orlistat turn out to be of very little or no use at all it could in fact do more harm than good as individuals suffering from obesity turn the Orlistat as the answer to their problem and away from the need for a strict diet and exercise program.

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