The First Non-Prescription Obesity Pills Have Been Approved

An over-the-counter diet pill that is designed for adults who are suffering from obesity has at long last been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. But just how effective will this new drug be and is it going to be the solution for the many thousands of obese people who find that losing weight is very hard work?

To some degree we already have the answers as this is not a new drug at all but one that has been widely used in the US for several years. The drug, which is known as Orlistat, is in fact simply a half-dose version of the currently available prescription drug called Xenical.

The traditional route to weight loss for obesity sufferers is for doctors to begin by recommending a period of diet and exercise and, if this is not successful, to move on to help dieters with drugs such as Xenical. As a final solution, if this still does not work, individuals may be offered gastric bypass surgery as the ultimate answer to their weight problem. This brief insight into the background to treating morbid obesity provides us with an idea of just how this new diet pill is designed to be employed.

Whatever people may wish this is definitely not a case of simply taking a pill daily and miraculously watching the weight drop off. Orlistat works in part by stopping the absorption of fat and is at its most efficient when taken three times each day with meals that contain approximately fifteen grams of fat. If taken will meals that contain in excess of fifteen grams of fat taking Orlistat could produce bowel problems.

Use of Orlistat can also hinder the absorption of certain vitamins and users have to take daily multivitamin supplements. Orlistat is not recommended for people who are taking any form of blood thinning agent or who are being treated for diabetes or thyroid problems.

Without an accompanying diet and exercise program Orlistat will have very little or no affect at all and you are only going to get any benefit from taking it alongside a strict diet and exercise program. However, even here weight loss is likely to be marginal and many people question whether the likely results (predicted from the known results documented from the use of Xenical) make taking Orlistat worthwhile.

Possibly one additional question which we ought to ask is just why the FDA has chosen to approve this drug for over-the-counter use now. Obesity rates are now increasing at epidemic proportions and we are seeing great pressure to find a solution to this problem before it runs literally out of control. A lot of people feel that the approval of Orlistat is little more than the FDA's reaction to public pressure.

Should Orlistat prove to be of very little or no use at all it may actually do greater harm than good as people who are suffering from obesity turn their attention towards the drug as the solution to their problem and away from the need to set themselves a strict program of diet and exercise.

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