Weight Loss Drugs - weight loss information

With obesity on the rise in America, and the lengthy list of medical issues attributed to it, consumers are searching for ways to lose weight. Nothing represents America's desire to lose weight more than the billions of dollars spent each year on weight loss programs.

Unfortunately though, those trying the newest fad diet or diet pill quickly find the money spent doesn't pay off.

Alli is the most recent diet pill to hit the market. Made by the same manufacturer of the prescription diet drug Xenical, Alli is a lower dosage version and can be purchased over-the-counter.

Just like Xenical, Alli is promoted as a weight-loss enhancer by preventing the absorption of fat from foods we eat. And just like its predecessor, Alli does increase the risk of becoming deficient of fat soluble vitamins. Therefore, taking a daily multi-vitamin at a different time than taking Alli is a must.

Alli's manufacturer recommends using the pill in conjunction with making lifestyle changes. These changes include exercising and eating a low-calorie, fat-controlled diet. Since Alli is a fat blocker, the manufacturer recommends eating no more than 15 grams of fat at each meal, or a consumer runs the risk of having negative symptoms (i.e.: gas, loose stools, diarrhea, and more frequent and/or hard to control bowel movements).

Fifteen grams of fat per meal equates to eating 25 percent of one's daily calories from fat when following an 1,800 calorie meal plan (or three meals with 15 grams of fat and one snack with 5 grams of fat). Fat should provide 20 to 35 percent of our daily calories, according to the 2005 U.S. Department of Agriculture dietary guidelines.

Does it work?

Weight loss may occur, but not necessarily in the amount you are hoping. According to Dr. Donald Hensrud, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., although some studies have been done on Alli, most of the weight loss projections are based upon the results of studies done with Xenical. With Xenical creating an average weight loss of only 6 pounds each year above weight loss from diet and exercise, he concludes at "half the strength, Alli could conceivably result in an average of 3 pounds lost in a year."

In the end, I feel the potential positives associated with the use of Alli are heavily outweighed by the negatives. Therefore, I recommend customers save their money and not use this diet aid.

Source: http://www.masslive.com/

A new over-the-counter weight-loss pill, which has been disappearing quickly from store shelves across Houston since it became available a week ago, is likely to cause undesirable side effects if dieters don't also abide by the low-fat diet that the drugmaker recommends.

That hasn't stopped thousands of people from flocking to pharmacies to buy Alli, the first FDA-approved nonprescription diet drug. For the past week, pharmacy employees have stocked and restocked their shelves with the pills.

"We can't keep up with it," said Hisham Ghali, executive assistant manager of a Walgreens in River Oaks.

The store had sold out of the largest available bottle of Alli on Thursday, but he expected another shipment within a few days.

Alli, pronounced "AL-eye" and manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, prevents the body from absorbing fat by blocking enzymes in the digestive system. Made using orlistat, which has been available for several years in a higher-dose prescription form called Xenical, Alli blocks about a quarter of the fat eaten during a meal when users pop a pill beforehand. It can be taken up to three times daily.

Users of Alli can lose about 50 percent more weight than they would through dieting alone, according to GlaxoSmithKline. For example, someone who loses 10 pounds through dieting could lose 15 pounds with Alli, the company says.

The drug can cause nasty side effects, however, particularly for dieters whose fat intake per meal is higher than the recommended 15 grams. (A fast-food hamburger can contain 30 grams.) GlaxoSmithKline warns of the potential for "gas with oily spotting, loose stools or more frequent stools that may be hard to control." The company suggests not taking the pill before meals with high fat content.

Users attest to this on Alli's online message board through posts called "accident support group." Some complain of the bowel changes and leaks consistent with GlaxoSmithKline's warnings, while others say they have constipation or cramping. Meanwhile, dieters considering using the drug ask questions such as, "adult diapers mandatory during first week?"

For at least one Alli dieter, the unpleasant side effects are part of the drug's appeal.

"It forces me to diet and exercise to avoid any bad side effects," a dieter who signed in as Sheree wrote on Alli's message boards. "Trust me, on my own I would have already cheated!"

Low-fat diet is crucial

Two local diet specialists said orlistat can be effective, so long as the user is dedicated to a low-fat diet.

"For the person who's committed to eating right and exercising and doing the right things, then staying on Alli will serve them well over time," said Dr. Tom Lux, assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, who has prescribed Xenical for weight-loss patients. "For a person who likes to eat a lot of steak and heavy food and fried food, it's not going to be a good choice."

After a Walgreens in the Memorial area got its first shipment on June 14, buyers bought all 36 packs of 90 pills, at a price of $59.99, that day. The store got a shipment of 60- and 120-pill packs the following day and quickly sold those, too, said store manager Bill Coligan.

"It was a little busy," he said. "Every couple of minutes, we were over here unlocking the case."

'Not a magic pill'

Stores are keeping the product locked because it's so popular, and pricey, that it's a major target for shoplifters who want to sell it on the street. A 60-pill "starter pack" sells for $49.99, while one with 120 pills goes for $69.99.

The drug also is selling well at other local pharmacies, including CVS and Kroger.

Rebecca Reeves, a dietician and assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine who has conducted research on orlistat, said having the drug available over the counter provides a great opportunity for people looking to lose weight.

"It's not a magic pill," she said. "It will help you along when you are involved in a good, healthy lifestyle."

Source: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4914080.html

The first non-prescription diet drug ever to be approved by the FDA hit the shops this week and optimistic dieters are dashing out to buy it.

The new diet pill, Alli which is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) works by blocking the absorption of fat by the body which is then eliminated by way of the bowels.

The drug does have some unpleasant side-effects such as oily bowel movements, loose stools and the possibility of leakage, along with gas.

A months supply of Alli will set you back US$60 and GSK recommends the best results will be achieved when no more than 15 grams of fat per meal are eaten while taking the drug.

Alli is not recommended for people younger than 18, people with kidney disease, or people on blood thinners.

In a study, Alli taken in conjunction with a good diet, offered an additional 5% of weight loss when compared to somebody following a good diet without taking the drug.

Only 20% of people who use Alli can expect to lose 10% or more of their body weight and many will lose very little weight and possibly suffer the embarrassing gastrointestinal side effects.

Unlike other prescription weight-loss drugs Alli does not induce a feeling of fullness, reduce cravings or curb the appetite; what it does do is prevent the body from breaking down and absorbing fat.

The active ingredient in Alli, orlistat is also found in the prescription diet drug Xenical but in a higher dosage.

While Alli blocks around 25% of the fat eaten, Xenical blocks one-third of the fat ingested.

In real terms 2,000 calories a day with about 30% fat, would translate to about 150 calories a day with Alli.

A pound of weight loss equates to 3,500 calories.

Limiting fat intake to 15 grams a meal will help avoid the side-effects - .most Americans consume 80 to 100 grams of fat a day.

Glaxo officials do admit that many people would lose weight on their own with a reduction in fat intake, but say that Alli helps people lose more weight.

Doctors say most people are eating far more fat than they realize and the case with most dieters is that are unable to sustain the weight loss.

Orlistat has been widely tested and about 50% of the people who use orlistat lose at least 5% of their body weight; only one out of five people who take the drug lose at least 10% of their body weight, according to Glaxo.

Experts say even small amounts of weight loss offer health benefits.

Source: http://www.news-medical.net/?id=26566

Diet pill alli (low-dose orlistat) will officially go on sale on June 15th, according to distributor GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare.

While the pricing of the drug has not been officially announced, a starter pack that includes 60 alli capsules (enough for three weeks assuming that you take one before each meal), the alli Shuttle (a carrying case for your pills), and several booklets including a calorie and fat counter and a daily journal is expected to cost between $50 and $60.

An alli starter pack that includes 90 alli capsules (enough for a month assuming that you take one before each meal) is expected to cost between $65 and $70.

An alli refill package -- consisting solely of 120 alli capsules (enough for 40 days) -- is expected to cost between $75 and $85.

Glaxo, meanwhile, has released the first two television commercials of what is ultimately expected to be a $100 million plus first-year blitz for the first FDA-approved over-the-counter diet drug.

Both of the first two commercials can be viewed by those who have missed them on television via the video sharing website YouTube.

As part of the prelaunch educational campaign for the diet pill that Glaxo agreed to at the insistence of the FDA, the first two commercials are very slick but soft-sell and are designed to push people to Glaxo's internet website, myalli.com, which is expected to play a major role in the company's marketing.

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Sanofi-Aventis said on Monday a U.S. panel of health experts would review its anti-obesity pill Acomplia in June, a move which analysts said caused new concerns over whether it would win U.S. marketing approval by the Food and Drug Administration.

Shares in the French drugmaker lost as much as 2 percent and were off 1.5 percent at 64.39 euros by 1454 GMT, while the DJ Stoxx European health sector index fell 0.5 percent.

"It (the panel meeting) indicates there are more question marks or concerns that need to be ironed out in a broader forum. It's a way for the FDA to hedge itself," Karl Heinz Koch, analyst at Vontobel said.

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Even though diet pill rimonabant (Acomplia / Zimulti) remains stalled at the FDA, and in the next few years may face stiff competition from several drugs already in or moving into phase III trials, a leading research firm forecasts that Acomplia will be the clinical gold standard for treating obesity in 2010.

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