Restaurant dining and eating out in Clark Pampanga: FDA Urged to Ban Weight-loss Pills

FDA Urged to Ban Weight-loss Pills
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is being urged to ban 2 popular weight-loss drugs. According to the consumer advocacy group, Public Citizen, Alli and Xenical have been found to cause serious health risks including liver failure, acute pancreatitis and even death. They have filed a petition with the FDA to remove these products immediately from the market. The FDA files on adverse reactions clearly indicate that the drugs are linked to acute pancreatitis and kidney stones.
The two drugs named in this petition contain the same ingredient, orlistat, which is currently used to treat overweight people and obesity. Alli, made by GlaxoSmithKline, contains 60 mgs (milligrams) of the drug orlistat and is the over the counter brand. Xenical is the prescription form of the pill, containing 120 mgs and is manufactured by Roche.
The Public Citizen’s Health Research Group agrees in a statement by the director, Dr. Sidney Wolfe, “These drugs have the potential to cause significant damage to multiple critical organs, yet they provide meager benefits in reducing weight loss in obese and overweight patients. For this reason, the FDA should tell the manufacturers of these drugs, Hoffman-LaRoche and GlaxoSmithKline, to pull Xenical and Alli, respectively, from the market immediately.”
Public Citizen’s previously called for a ban on Xenical in 2006, after research tied the drug to the formation of pre-cancerous lesions in the colon in laboratory rats. With such limited success that the two drugs have shown, the risks clearly outweigh any possible benefits. Neither product has demonstrated their effectiveness over a low fat diet and exercise which in turn, has led fewer doctors to prescribe the drug particularly due to risks involved vs. the marginal success rate.
Orlistat, the active ingredient in both drugs, is one of the most studied drugs of the weight-loss medicines. Both manufacturing companies stand by their products and remain steadfast in their belief that the drug is safe while monitoring all new safety research. Citing clinical studies involving thousands of test cases, they believe the product’s safety is well established. Sales of the drug have dropped, however, as questions and concerns continue over the dangerous effects of its use.
Taking the necessary steps to lose weight is so much more than swallowing a pill. It takes clear dedication in your mind and body. Most importantly, it takes real effort. By relying solely on a pill to do the hard stuff for you, are you really giving it all you have? How much effort are you putting forth? While we understand the eagerness and perhaps for some, the desperate need, for belief in a miracle pill that will help them shed their unwanted pounds, the best method for losing weight and keeping it off, is the tried and true adherence to a healthy low fat diet plan and exercise regimen.
Source: http://www.lowfatdietplan.org/diet-health-and-fitness/news/fda-urged-to-ban-weight-loss-pills