The New York Times reports this morning that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reviewing two diet-oriented drugs that could have an impact on the nation’s obesity epidemic. “One, called Acomplia, would be a prescription pill to control appetite by blocking the same brain receptors that stimulate the "munchies" in marijuana smokers,” the NYT writes. The other “is a weight-loss drug that works by blocking the body's absorption of fat. Since 1999 it has been sold in the United States as the prescription medication Xenical.”
The Times writes that if approved, the two drugs “would be the first new developments in weight-loss medicine since the late 1990's,” but that there are “an estimated 200 other possibilities are in the research pipeline as companies seek an elusive cure for obesity.”
Both drugs are slated to be reviewed within the next several months.
The new version of Xenical would be an OTC drug, the NYT writes, but there possibly could be restrictions on who could buy it. Sales could be restricted to people over 18, in part because of “its tendency to cause flatulence, diarrhea or even sudden loss of bowel control.”
The Times writes that if approved, the two drugs “would be the first new developments in weight-loss medicine since the late 1990's,” but that there are “an estimated 200 other possibilities are in the research pipeline as companies seek an elusive cure for obesity.”
Both drugs are slated to be reviewed within the next several months.
The new version of Xenical would be an OTC drug, the NYT writes, but there possibly could be restrictions on who could buy it. Sales could be restricted to people over 18, in part because of “its tendency to cause flatulence, diarrhea or even sudden loss of bowel control.”
- KC's View:
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The good news is that you can get skinny. The bad news is that you can’t leave the house.
Maybe we’re being overly picky here, but this strikes us as a significant downside…
