Word: orlistat
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...weren't already hard enough to get Americans to eat less and exercise more, an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration last week gave the green light to yet another weight-loss shortcut, recommending approval of a new drug, called orlistat, that prevents the body from absorbing as much as 30% of the fat it takes...
Consequences, indeed. Fat that isn't absorbed has to go somewhere, and orlistat users find out in a hurry just where. Among the drug's less elegant side effects are loose stools and oily intestinal leakage. Moreover, about 20% of those who take orlistat absorb not only less fat but also fewer nutrients--particularly vitamins D and E and beta carotene...
...Orlistat is not the only weight-loss nostrum to target the mass market lately. Last year the FDA approved Redux, a drug that controls appetite by boosting levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin, producing a sort of chemically induced illusion of being full. A similar medication, sibutramine, is expected to be approved soon. Both drugs have side effects, however, including fatigue and insomnia...
...expected to approve more diet drugs in the next few years. Knoll Pharmaceutical's sibutramine is a serotonin drug, like dexfenfluramine and its predecessor, fenfluramine. Roche Laboratories' orlistat uses a different approach: it binds to food in the intestines, blocking the absorption of about one-third of dietary...
Given the uncertainties -- and the hefty premium Hoffmann-La Roche can be expected to charge for any new diet pill -- medical experts say that use of orlistat should generally be limited to those who need it most. Candidates would include the tens of millions of people who suffer from chronic, intractable obesity and the millions more who are only a few binges away from that plight...