The First Over-The Counter Obesity Pills Have Arrived

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

To some extend we already know the answers because this is not a new drug but is one which has been in wide use in the US for several years. The drug, which is known as Orlistat, is in reality simply a half-dose version of the present prescription drug sold under the name of Xenical.

The normal route to weight loss in cases of obesity is for doctors to start by recommending a period of diet and exercise and, when this is not successful, to turn to helping the dieting process with a range of drugs including Xenical. In the end, if this still does not do the trick, patients might be offered morbid obesity surgery as the ultimate weight loss solution. This brief examination of the background to treating morbid obesity gives an idea of just how this new diet pill is to be employed.

No matter what individuals might want this is certainly not a matter of simply taking a pill daily and magically shedding pounds. Orlistat works in part by stopping the absorption of fat and is at its most efficient when taken three times a day with meals which contain approximately fifteen grams of fat. If taken will meals which contain more than fifteen grams of fat then taking Orlistat may produce bowel problems.

The use of Orlistat might also impede the absorption of some vitamins and users have to take daily multivitamin tablets. The drug is not recommended for individuals who are taking any sort of blood thinning medicine or who are under treatment for thyroid problems or diabetes.

Without an accompanying program of diet and exercise Orlistat will have very little or no affect and you are only going to derive any benefit from using it together with a strict program of diet and exercise. However, even here results are likely to be minor and a lot of people question whether the results (which are predicted from the known results documented from the use of Xenical) make taking Orlistat worthwhile.

Possibly one additional question we need to ask is just why the FDA has chosen to approve the over-the-counter use of this drug now. Obesity rates are rising at epidemic proportions and we are seeing mounting pressure to find an answer to this problem before it literally runs out of control. Many people feel that the approval 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 might in reality do greater harm than good as individuals who are suffering from obesity turn the Orlistat as the solution to their problem and away from the need to set themselves a strict program of diet and exercise.

GastricBypassFacts.info provides a definition of morbid obesity and also examines the value of obesity pills