Study: weight-loss drugs don't work!

Three diet drugs recommended for long-term use result in minimal weight loss and carry some serious side effects.

In a paper published Friday in the British Medical Journal, researchers in Canada and Brazil analyzed existing data on three popular weight-loss drugs: orlistat, or Xenical; sibutramine, known as Meridia in the United States and Reductil in Europe; and rimonabant, or Accomplia.

Scientists found that patients on the drugs -- men and women between 45 and 50 years old who weighed about 220 pounds and had a body mass index of about 35 -- lost less than 11 pounds on average. The study participants used the drugs for periods of between one and four years.

"Drugs are not the magic cure and are not for everybody," said Dr. Raj Padwal, an assistant professor at the University of Alberta, one of the paper's authors. "But in specific patients, they have great benefits."

Padwal and colleagues considered 16 trials that tested orlistat, which involved 10,631 people. Orlistat, which works by preventing fat digestion, helped people lose about 6.6 pounds on average. But it also reduced diabetes and improved their cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Up to 30 percent of patients had unpleasant digestive and intestinal side effects, such as incontinence.

Of the 10 trials on sibutramine, which involved 2,623 people, study participants lost about 9 pounds on average and had improved cholesterol levels. In up to 20 percent of patients, sibutramine caused side effects including raised blood pressure and pulse rates, insomnia and nausea.

And in the four rimonabant studies involving 6,365 people, scientists found that users lost on average about 11 pounds. Rimonabant also improved their blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The risk of mood disorders increased in 6 percent of patients.

Both sibutramine and rimonabant work by interrupting nerve signals in the brain.>>
Another study published Friday in The Lancet also showed rimonabant raised the risk of psychiatric problems such as depression and anxiety.

A report from the Food and Drug Administration in June found that 26 percent of people on rimonabant -- versus 14 percent of those given a placebo -- developed symptoms that included depression, anxiety and, in severe cases, suicidal tendencies. The FDA refused to authorize the drug.

Modest help is worthwhile
Rimonabant has been approved by the European Drug Agency, and is available in countries including Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece and the United Kingdom.
Sibutramine and orlistat are licensed for sale in the U.S. Another version of orlistat known as Alli is sold over the counter in the U.S., and its maker, GlaxoSmithKline PLC, is seeking approval for sales in Europe.

Some experts say that the few pounds the drugs help people to shed are worth it. "Modest weight loss brings surprisingly big health gains," said Susan Jebb, head of nutrition and health at Britain's Medical Research Council. Jebb was not tied to either study.

"We are not just fighting obesity, but the things that come along with it," Jebb said. Losing as little as 5 pounds can help reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

But other experts worry that easy access to diet drugs give people a false sense of security. "Selling anti-obesity drugs over the counter will perpetuate the myth that obesity can be fixed simply by popping a pill," wrote Dr. Gareth Williams, dean and professor of medicine at the University of Bristol, in an editorial in the British Medical Journal.

Padwal said the biggest caveat about the drugs is that their long-term effects are unknown. In 2005, global sales of the drugs were estimated at $1.2 billion.>>
Faced with an increasing global obesity epidemic -- the World Health Organization estimates that 3 billion adults will be overweight or obese by 2015 -- many experts think the drugs could be used more widely.

"Diet and lifestyle interventions on their own have been stunningly poor," Jebb said. "We've got to be realistic," she said. "Even though the weight losses from the drugs are modest, they're better than most other things we've got."

Herbalife, Obesity and Weight Loss

HerbaLife is helping the fight against Obesity as stated in their financial Q3 report:

"Quote"
Over the past few years, we have been customizing delivery of these products to strategically support various distributor DMOs. For example, in July, at the North American extravaganza, we launched our new kids line in H3O, our hydration product. Our kid's line addresses both the children's health and childhood obesity epidemic by offering the nutrient filled snacks and supplements and it opens up a product and business opportunity for stay at home moms. H3O is a key product addition that supports our brand alignment with healthy active lifestyle as well as supporting the emerging DMO such as wellness coaching and sampling.


At our European extravaganza in Cologne, we introduced single serve formula one packets to support the emerging sample and wellness DMOs as well as the second shake per day opportunity for Nutrition Clubs. In Brazil, we launched the first part of our strategic outer care product line in a world team school in August. This line is called Soft Green and all products contain green tea. The phase one launch included a hand moisturizer and liquid soap with three additional products to be introduced at Brazil... at our extravaganza coming in December. This line was developed locally in Brazil in conjunction with our corporate R&D team in a strategically priced to compete in the marketplace.


Herbalife for life is our underlying platform for our product strategy. Balanced nutrition, personalized for a healthy active lifestyle. Historically, the product platform for our company was weight loss. What is above is that our distributors have broadened the message from weight loss to weight management and with that shift comes the communication and coaching for good nutrition and are living a healthy active lifestyle. This is evident in the emergence of DMO such as Nutrition Club DMO, Wellness Coach and others.
"Unquote"

There are more interesting statements made in this report. Seems they increasing their performance through addressing a worldwide obesity epidemic.

Source

Injections To Melt Fat - Do They Deliver?

Can a series of injections help dissolve away your extra fat? That's what some medical clinics claim.

CBS went to two medical clinics in Southern California to check out their promises to melt inches off your body with a series of injections. But they discovered hidden dangers (source).

LipoZap is just one of several companies touting weight loss with a series of injections. The chemical is known as PCDC. A mixture of ingredients including lecithin and sodium. In Germany, it's marketed as lipostabil. It's become very controversial around the world and we found some companies aren't telling patients the whole story.

Lipostabil is banned in Brazil because it hasn't been approved for use. Doctors in Canada have been ordered to stop using it for fat removal. In California there's no prohibition against it. But it's not approved by the FDA.

The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery is doing a study but the study hasn't been completed--but for now the group has warned patients to steer clear of lipo injections