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How Diet Pills Work to Burn Extra Fat Around Your Body?

by Davidabruzki

Weight is a subject talked about frequently during family get-togethers, gym classes, and medical counselors' advice and is the spearhead of every fashion statement. To presume that the weight-watchers are all about appearance may be as wrong a notion as one can harbor. Scrutinizing your weight is a prerequisite to a healthy lifestyle, well-being and a sense of confidence to face the world. Here are some idioms that almost

Belviq-Lorcaserin Approval Details
The nitty gritty on Belviq, which is the new trade name for Lorcaserin (ADP-356), is that it was first rejected by the FDA on September 16, 2010, based on concerns over safety and efficacy. Then, after further studies by the manufacturer (Arena Pharmaceuticals), the FDA reversed its position and on June 27, 2012, approved its use, with certain restrictions. Those restrictions are that it be used only for the treatment of obesity in adults with a BMI (Body Mass Index) of at least 30, or in adults with a BMI of at least 27 and who, "&have at least one weight-related health condition, such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, or high cholesterol."

Hmm. I suppose this means that doubts about the safety and efficacy of this drug are moot if you are big enough or in bad enough health.

How Does It Work?

Biochemists call lorcaserin a "selective 5-HT2C receptor agonist." Translated, this means that it activates those parts of the brain (receptors) where a serotonin precursor (5-HT) works. Yup, it is another attempt by our friendly drug manufacturers to fool you into feeling full so you will stop eating sooner. The jargon is to "promote weight loss through satiety."

It is too bad that this approach to designing a weight loss drug is doomed to fail, because it relies on the flawed Calories In/Calories Out' strategy. This is a simple-minded strategy that is clearly ineffective. The human body is not a furnace for burning calories. It is a complex set of metabolic processes that have to be taken into account for optimizing metabolism.

Clinical Results

The FDA accepts remarkably low standards for any new weight loss drug: at least 5 percent loss of body weight within 12 months. Overall results for lorcaserin show an average of 3 to 3.7 percent weight loss over a year. If you start out at 250 pounds, on average you can expect to lose 7.5 to 9.25 pounds. However, the saving grace for this drug in the eyes of the FDA is that 47 percent of patients without diabetes lost at least 5 percent of their body weight. It just squeaked in at the minimum standard & whoopee!

For comparison, modifying your diet by choosing the right foods and eating at the right times can provide weight loss of 2 pounds per week with very little effort. And if you add a little of the right kinds of exercise, you can accelerate it even more. Just think, eating right and exercising right outdo the only new weight loss drug that the FDA has approved in the past 13 years. Isn't that interesting?

Oh, one other little observation to note about clinical results with lorcaserin: when patients stopped taking the drug, they gained their weight back. Gee, it looks like another drug for life' from Big Pharma. Once you get your first prescription, which should be available by early 2013, you have to keep taking it as long as you live.

Side Effects

So far the side effects have been minimized to include only a slight chance of depression, migraine, and memory lapses. Stay tuned.

By: Dr. Dennis Clark

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Weight Loss Pills

Weight Loss Drugs - For Relief of Obesity

Weight loss drugs are designed for the treatment of obesity, a chronic disease with serious health risks, which justifies the use of weight loss pharmaceuticals despite well known side effects and health risks. Weight loss medications are NOT designed for cosmetic weight loss.

Weight Loss Diet Supplements

As well as prescription drugs, there are many diet supplements that are sold over the counter to assist weight control. These weight loss supplements are not regulated by the FDA in the same way as weight loss drugs. They do not need FDA approval (unless they contain a new ingredient) and the manufacturers are themselves responsible for ensuring the safety and effectiveness of their weight loss pills. They are also responsible for disclosing all side-effects and health problems of their weight loss supplements.

Weight Loss Supplements - "Natural" or "Herbal" Not Always Safe

Just because a weight loss supplement claims to contain herbal or natural sounding ingredients, this does not imply greater safety. The 'natural' ingredient ephedra (ephedrine, ma huang) has been implicated, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in hundreds of illnesses, including: heart attacks, seizures and strokes. Ephedra compounds have powerful and potentially lethal stimulant effects on the central nervous system and the heart. There are several other high-risk 'natural' or 'herbal' ingredients that appear in weight loss supplements.

Weight Loss Pills - Little Testing

In general, weight-loss pills have been subjected to very little long-term testing. Research indicates that risks of weight loss drugs like fenfluramine, phentermine, and dexfenfluramine may increase dramatically the longer the drugs are used. In addition, the drugs produce minimal weight loss, and upon discontinuing the use of any of the drugs, the weight is virtually always regained. Further, anecdotal evidence suggests that impatient consumers eager to speed weight loss frequently take multiple, more dangerous doses of weight-loss drugs. Vulnerable consumers have also been misled and harmed by unregulated herbal, so-called "natural," weight-loss drugs.

Weight Loss Pills - Do They Work

Medically supervised drug treatment programs to relieve obesity definitely produce results, but clinical tests show that lasting weight loss - even for clinically obese patients - is not possible by using weight loss pills alone. Such medication should be combined with physical activity and improved diet to lose and maintain weight successfully over the long term.

Weight Loss Pills are No Magic Bullet

Most experts continue to advise that weight loss pills are NOT a magic solution to weight control. In order to lose weight successfully, without regain, you must combine weight loss medications with a sensible diet and exercise program. In fact, if you check the literature accompanying most weight loss supplements, it often states that effective weight loss or sustained weight control is not possible by taking the weight loss pills by themselves.
Despite spending millions of dollars on pills, supplements and other weight loss medications, obesity rates continue to soar. 58 million Americans are overweight; 40 million are obese and 3 million suffer from life-threatening obesity. Furthermore, 8 out of 10 over 25's are overweight and there has been a 76% increase in Type II diabetes in adults 30-40 yrs old since 1990.
"There are no shortcuts - no magic pills," says Lori Love, M.D., Ph.D., of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Losing weight sensibly and safely requires a multifaceted approach that includes setting reasonable weight-loss goals, changing eating habits, and getting adequate exercise. Diet pills, supplements, appetite suppressants, "fat-burners" or other products may help some people over the short term, but they are not a substitute for adopting healthful eating habits over the long term.

Weight Loss Pills & Supplements - Play Safe!

Whatever type of weight loss pills you are interested in - prescription-only weight loss drugs, or weight loss supplements - you must consult your doctor. Ask for a full explanation of the side effects and dangers of the weight loss pills you are considering.
Note: taking diet or weight loss drugs is not usually considered appropriate if:

You are pregnant or breastfeeding
You have a history of drug or alcohol abuse
You have a history of an eating disorder
You have a history of severe depression or manic-depressive disorder
You are taking a monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor or any other type of anti-depressant medication
You get migraine headaches and take medication for them
You have an unstable medical condition, such as glaucoma, diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease or a heart condition such as an irregular heartbeat.

Weight Loss Pills - Side Effects Warning

If you are taking any weight loss drugs, medications, diet supplements or any other kind of weight control pills and you suffer from any unusual symptoms or side-effects, stop talking the pills and see your doctor.
In particular, watch out for these weight loss pills side effects:
Nervousness, restlessness, insomnia, high blood pressure, fatigue and hyperactivity, heart arrhythmias and palpitations, congestive heart failure or heart attack, stroke, headaches, dry mouth, vomitting and diarrhea or constipation, intestinal disturbances, tightness in chest, tingling in extremities, excessive persperation, dizziness, disruption in mentrual cycle, change in sex drive, depression, hair loss, blurred vision, fever and urinary tract problems.
Sources:
Diet & Weight Loss Pills Information
Weight Control Information Network (WIN)
Weight Loss Information
Vegetarian Diet