Americans struggle with obesity; a 2010 article published by lead author Katherine Legal, Ph.D., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in "Journal of the American Medical Association" reported that in 2008, 32.2 percent of men and 35.5 percent of women were obese, with a body mass index of 30 or more. In addition, 64 percent of men and 68 percent of women were overweight or obese. Around 7 percent of Americans turn to over-the-counter drugs to lose weight, the University of Maryland Medical Center website reports, but both over-the-counter and prescription diet pills can have a number of potentially serious effects.
Liver Damage
Orlistat, sold as an over-the-counter drug, Alli and a prescription drug, Xenical, blocks fat absorption from food. Around 30 percent of dietary fat is not absorbed but is excreted as oily yellow globules in the stool. The only difference between the two drugs is the dose: Alli contains 60mg of orlistat, while Xenical contains 120mg per pill. In 2009, the food and Drug Administration reported 13 cases of liver damage, including several that led to liver transplant and two deaths. It's difficult to establish an exact cause and effect relationship between orlistat and liver damage, because only 13 cases were reported out of approximately 40 million people taking the drug. Since obesity itself poses a risk of liver damage, a definite relationship can't be established.
Heart Problems
Phentermine, a prescription diet pill that works as an appetite suppressant was once part of a diet combination called Fen-Phen. The other drug, fenfluramine, was withdrawn from the market in 1997. A number of people taking Fen-Phen experienced heart problem such as valve disease, pulmonary hypertension and heart arrhythmias. Serious heart-related side effects such as a rapid heartbeat, chest pain or increased blood pressure should be reported immediately to your medical practitioner. Sibutramine, prescribed as Meridia, can also cause high blood pressure or rapid heartbeat. Brazilian diet pills sold as Emagrece Sim and Herbathin, amount other names often contain stimulants similar to amphetamines that cause similar side effects.
Dependency
Diet pills can cause physical or emotional addiction in some people. Pills that contain amphetamines, no longer legally prescribed in the United States for appetite suppression, or other stimulants found in supplements sold overseas, such as the Brazilian diet pills, most often cause dependency.
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