Two thirds of the U.S. population is overweight or obese, according to the National Institutes of Health, and by 2015, reports Reuters, that proportion will grow to three quarters. Those who struggle with being overweight or obese know too well how hard it is to peel those pounds away. After failing to lose weight, or losing and then regaining the weight, many consider OTC, or over-the-counter, weight loss pills. They typically hope that a pill can succeed where they have floundered.
Buyer Beware
Weight-loss pills are marketed on the Internet, pharmacies, supermarkets and health food stores. These supplements claim to assist in weight loss, but often these assertions are not substantiated by independent research. Worse, some pills may have serious side effects. Prescription drugs and medications are carefully regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Pharmaceutical companies must comply with rigorous standards in terms of documenting the effectiveness and evaluating side effects of medications they bring to market. Dietary supplements, such as weight loss pills, are not so carefully regulated by the FDA. Diet pills do not have to go through a rigorous testing and evaluation process before being sold to the public, according to MayoClinic.com
Questionable Claims
Vendors claim that diet pills can help weight loss by decreasing or blocking the absorption of fat, increasing the calories burned, decreasing appetite, building muscle or some combination of these effects. The FDA requires that supplement labels be truthful and not make misleading claims, reports FDA.com. However, the Federal Trade Commission and not the FDA regulates dietary supplement advertising, according to FDA.gov. Manufacturers can easily comply with regulations of the FDA by limiting claims made on the supplement label. Vendors who sell the supplements, however, can imply claims in advertisements. For example, some vendors promote their products by advertising testimonials in which successful clients describe their remarkable success thanks to the diet pill. Then, somewhere in tiny print in the advertisement they note that "actual results may vary" or "advertised claims may not be typical."
These legal caveats don't necessarily mean the pills won't work for anybody. Even prescription medications only work for a limited percentage of patients. The problem is, often there is little research to identify the proportion of people who respond positively to the diet pills, and there is even less research to identify who the pills may work for and who they won't work for.
Side Effects
Once a diet pill is on the market the FDA is empowered to remove or ban it if there is evidence of significant negative side effects. Unfortunately, it can sometimes take a long time for the side effects to be properly documented so pills, such as ephedra, can remain on the market for a while despite serious negative side effects. Ephedra, which is now banned by the FDA, has side effects that include heart arrhythmia, stroke and even death, according to University of Maryland Medical Center.
Possibly Effective
At least three diet pills have third-party research that substantiates the potential effectiveness of the pills. Alli, an OTC version of the prescription drug orlistat, has been demonstrated effective, reports CBS News. On average, for every 5 lbs. lost through diet and exercise, those who use orlistat lose an additional pound or two, reports CBS News. Allli is safe for many, but the FDA is investigating reports of liver injuries. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) has been rated as possibly safe by MayoClinic.com, and initial research reported by the "International Journal of Obesity" suggests CLA may reduce abdominal fat. Ephedra is possibly effective but has been banned by the FDA due to safety concerns such as stroke, arrhythmia and death.
Insufficient Evidence of Effectiveness
There is insufficient reliable evidence to rate the efficacy of a significant portion of the diet pills on the market. Diet pills for which there is need for further research, according to MayoClinic.com, include bitter orange, chitosan, chromium, country mallow, green tea extract and hoodia.
Limits
Even when effective, diet pills are no magic bullet. They cannot compensate for unhealthy lifestyles, so if you continue to consume more calories than you burn off through exercise, you will likely have limited success with diet pills. Though orlistat, the prescription version of Alli, may assist in weight maintenance for a 3-year period, according to the National Institutes of Health, research has not yet evaluated the long term effects of diet pill usage. Talk with your physician before you begin taking diet pills.
References
- CBS News: First Over-The-Counter Diet Pill Gets OK
- Food and Drug Administration: Dietary Supplements
- International Journal of Obesity: Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) Reduced Abdominal Adipose Tissue
- Mayo Clinic: Over-the-counter Weight Loss Pills: Do They Work?
- Reuters: Study predicts 75 percent overweight in US by 2015
- National Institutes of Health: Prescription Medications for the Treatment of Obesity
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