The FDA Has At Long Last Approved A Non-Prescription Obesity Pill

An over-the-counter diet pill that is designed for adults suffering from obesity has at last been approved by the US FDA. But will this new drug work and will it be the solution for the thousands of obesity sufferers who find that losing weight is very her?

To some extend we already know the answers as this is not a new drug at all but is one which has been widely used in the United States since 1999. The drug, called Orlistat, is in actuality simply a half-dose version of the currently available prescription drug called Xenical.

The usual route for weight loss in cases of obesity is for doctors to begin by recommending a course of diet and exercise and, where this does not work, to move on to assist sufferes with a variety of drugs including Xenical. Finally, if this still proves unsuccessful, patients might be offered gastric bypass surgery as the ultimate solution to their weight problem. This insight into the background to treating morbid obesity provides us with an indication of just how this new diet pill is to be employed.

No matter what people might wish this is most definitely not a matter of simply taking a pill daily and miraculously watching the weight fall off. Orlistat works in part by blocking the absorption of fat and is most effective when taken three times each day with meals containing about fifteen grams of fat. If taken will meals containing in excess of the recommended fifteen grams of fat taking Orlistat could cause bowel problems.

Using Orlistat can also interfere with the absorption of certain vitamins and users are advised to take daily multivitamin tablets. This drug is not advised for people taking any type of blood thinning medicine or being treated for diabetes or thyroid problems.

Without an accompanying program of diet and exercise Orlistat will have very little if any affect at all and you are only going to derive benefit from its use while following a strict program of diet and exercise. Nonetheless, even with diet and exercise weight loss is likely to be marginal and many question whether the results (based upon the known results documented from the use of Xenical) make taking Orlistat worthwhile.

Possibly one further question which we have to ask is exactly why the FDA has chosen to approve the over-the-counter use of this drug at this time. Obesity rates are now rising at epidemic proportions and we are seeing great pressure to find an answer to this problem before it literally runs out of control. Many people feel that the licensing of Orlistat is little more than the FDA's reaction to public pressure.

If Orlistat proves to be of very little if any use at all it could actually do greater harm than good as people suffering from obesity turn their attention towards Orlistat as the solution to their problem and ignore the need for a strict program of diet and exercise.