Anti-obesity pills opposed
Pills are often prescribed for severe obesity cases
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Published by Gibson Square, out November 15th, 204 pages, £12. |  |
Friday, 16, Nov 2007 11:53
Moves to make anti-obesity pills available over the counter in Europe could damage public health, it has been warned.
Professor Gareth Williams of the University in Bristol expressed concern about the potential development after the publication of a study showing that such drugs have only a "moderate" impact.
Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline has applied to sell orlistat throughout Europe, a development Professor Williams warns may lead to a decreased emphasis on the importance of lifestyle and dietary changes.
"Selling anti-obesity drugs over the counter will perpetuate the myth that obesity can be fixed simply by popping a pill and could further undermine the efforts to promote healthy living, which is the only long term escape from obesity," he writes on the British Medical Journal's website today.
Orlistat is one of three drugs criticised in the study, alongside sibutramine and rimonabant.
Researchers based in Canada and Brazil found that, in a study of 30 placebo-based trials, these drugs failed to reduce total body weight by five per cent over the course of at least a year.
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommends ending the use of anti-obesity drugs if five per cent of body weight is not lost after three months.
"Methodologically rigorous studies powered to examine such end points are clearly required to better inform future use of anti-obesity drugs as adjuncts to lifestyle modification in improving the health status and quality of life in overweight and obese patients," the study concludes.
It notes that all three drugs increased weight loss above five per cent in a significant number of cases.