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The Diet Bomb
- By Super Admin
- Published 04/19/2011
- Wellness, Fitness, Diets
- Unrated
(CNN) -- Obesity can't be cured by pills, shots or even surgery.
If only it were that easy.
Despite centuries of supposed weight-loss remedies from anti-obesity soaps, crash diets based on vinegar to even amphetamines, fads have failed.
Over the years, Americans have become more obsessed with weight loss, but not much healthier as more than one-third of U.S. adults are obese.
Drugs have not effectively answered the problem, despite billions of dollars spent in research.
Obesity has more factors than just eating too much, according to research. The reasons why people gain excess weight vary -- and one drug isn't likely to address all these factors including lifestyle, food access and environment.
Our brains have a natural tendency to desire eating beyond need, to store in case of scarcity and famine, scientists say. That doesn't work well in the modern day when calorie-dense foods are readily available.
"We might not have any magic bullet," for obesity said Dr. Gene-Jack Wang, chair of medical research at Brookhaven National Laboratory. "We might have to use a bomb. You have to be very comprehensive."
Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of the Health Research Group -- part of the nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen -- isn't hopeful about the development of an effective and safe weight-loss drug.
"The possibility that the drug will only do the good things like lose weight and not have myriad effects on the body -- is zero," he said.
Weight-loss drugs: Can a prescription help you lose weight?
Weight-loss stimulants speed up metabolism but
can cause strokes, heart attacks and cardiovascular problems. Medications that block the body from absorbing fat cause really unpleasant side effects like diarrhea, oily spotting and the notorious anal leakage.
On Thursday, the Public Citizen Health Research Group petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ban the only approved long-term weight-loss drug, orlistat.
The group said that orlistat, sold in prescription form as Xenical and over-the-counter as Alli, causes serious side effects such as liver injury and kidney failure.
Genentech, maker of Xenical, said it had not yet thoroughly reviewed the petition. The company said the efficacy and safety of the drug "is based on more than 10 years of clinical experience and more than 38.7 million patients worldwide have received Xenical."
GlaxoSmithKline which owns Alli announced on Thursday that it would put the weight-loss drug for sale along with other products, because these "lacked sufficient critical mass."
Obesity treatment "is high priority" among drug research, said Dr. Mark Gold, chair of psychiatry at University of Florida who focuses on addiction and eating habits. "They've failed most of the time before."
The weight-loss busts are plenty: Meridia (heart attacks, strokes), Fen-phen (heart risk), Rimonabant (suicidal thoughts), ephedra (heart attacks, strokes).
Last year, the FDA rejected three proposed weight-loss drugs, Qnexa, lorcaserin and Contrave because of safety concerns ranging from heart to psychiatric issues.
Combo of old drugs offers new hope in obesity fight
"Losing weight doesn't mean anything if the drug is counteracting with adverse things," said Wolfe, who is a member of a safety advisory committee at the FDA.
If only it were that easy.
Despite centuries of supposed weight-loss remedies from anti-obesity soaps, crash diets based on vinegar to even amphetamines, fads have failed.
Over the years, Americans have become more obsessed with weight loss, but not much healthier as more than one-third of U.S. adults are obese.
Drugs have not effectively answered the problem, despite billions of dollars spent in research.
Obesity has more factors than just eating too much, according to research. The reasons why people gain excess weight vary -- and one drug isn't likely to address all these factors including lifestyle, food access and environment.
Our brains have a natural tendency to desire eating beyond need, to store in case of scarcity and famine, scientists say. That doesn't work well in the modern day when calorie-dense foods are readily available.
"We might not have any magic bullet," for obesity said Dr. Gene-Jack Wang, chair of medical research at Brookhaven National Laboratory. "We might have to use a bomb. You have to be very comprehensive."
Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of the Health Research Group -- part of the nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen -- isn't hopeful about the development of an effective and safe weight-loss drug.
"The possibility that the drug will only do the good things like lose weight and not have myriad effects on the body -- is zero," he said.
Weight-loss drugs: Can a prescription help you lose weight?
Weight-loss stimulants speed up metabolism but
On Thursday, the Public Citizen Health Research Group petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ban the only approved long-term weight-loss drug, orlistat.
The group said that orlistat, sold in prescription form as Xenical and over-the-counter as Alli, causes serious side effects such as liver injury and kidney failure.
Genentech, maker of Xenical, said it had not yet thoroughly reviewed the petition. The company said the efficacy and safety of the drug "is based on more than 10 years of clinical experience and more than 38.7 million patients worldwide have received Xenical."
GlaxoSmithKline which owns Alli announced on Thursday that it would put the weight-loss drug for sale along with other products, because these "lacked sufficient critical mass."
Obesity treatment "is high priority" among drug research, said Dr. Mark Gold, chair of psychiatry at University of Florida who focuses on addiction and eating habits. "They've failed most of the time before."
The weight-loss busts are plenty: Meridia (heart attacks, strokes), Fen-phen (heart risk), Rimonabant (suicidal thoughts), ephedra (heart attacks, strokes).
Last year, the FDA rejected three proposed weight-loss drugs, Qnexa, lorcaserin and Contrave because of safety concerns ranging from heart to psychiatric issues.
Combo of old drugs offers new hope in obesity fight
"Losing weight doesn't mean anything if the drug is counteracting with adverse things," said Wolfe, who is a member of a safety advisory committee at the FDA.