The US FDA Has At Long Last Approved A Non-Prescription Obesity Pill by Donald Saunders

An over-the-counter diet pill that is aimed at adults who are suffering from obesity has finally been approved by the US FDA. But just how effective is this new drug going to be and is it going to be the answer for the many thousands of obesity sufferers who find that losing weight is tremendously her?

To a certain degree we already know the answers to these questions because this is not a new drug but is one which has been widely used in the United States for several years. The drug, called Orlistat, is in actuality simply a half-dose version of the presently available prescription drug marketed as Xenical.

The time honored route to weight loss for obesity sufferers is for doctors to start by recommending a course of diet and exercise and, when this is not successful, to turn to assisting sufferes with drugs like Xenical. As a final solution, if this does not work, patients might be offered morbid obesity surgery as the ultimate solution to their weight problem. This brief insight into the background to treating morbid obesity provides us with a clue to exactly how this obesity pill is designed to be used.

No matter what people might want this is definitely not a matter of simply taking a pill daily and miraculously losing weight. Orlistat works by partially inhibiting the absorption of fat which is eaten and is most effective when it is taken three times a day with meals containing around fifteen grams of fat. If it is taken will meals containing more than the recommended fifteen grams of fat taking Orlistat may result in bowel problems.

The use of Orlistat can also onstruct the absorption of certain vitamins and users are advised to take daily multivitamin supplements. Orlistat is not advised for people who are taking any form of blood thinning medicine or who are being treated for thyroid problems or diabetes.

Without an accompanying plan of diet and exercise Orlistat will have very little or no affect and you are only going to get any benefit from its use while following a strict plan of diet and exercise. Nonetheless, even here results are likely to be marginal and many question whether the likely results (which are predicted from the known results documented from the use of Xenical) make the use of Orlistat a worthwhile operation.

Possibly one additional question we should ask is just why the FDA has approved the over-the-counter use of this drug now. Obesity rates are now growing at epidemic proportions and we see great pressure to find an answer to this problem before it literally runs out of control. A lot of people are convinced that the licensing of Orlistat is nothing more than the FDA's reaction to public pressure.

Should Orlistat prove to be of very little or no use it could actually do more harm than good as people who are suffering from obesity turn the Orlistat as the answer to their problem and away from the need to set themselves a strict diet and exercise plan.

GastricBypassFacts.info looks at treating morbid obesity and also looks at the value of obesity pills

Article Directory: Article Dashboard