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June 27th, 2012
02:43 PM ET
FDA approves drug to treat some obese, overweight adultsSome people who suffer from chronic weight issues may soon get some help from a pill.　 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Wednesday approved Belviq, or lorcaserin hydrochloride, to be combined with a reduced-calorie diet and exercise, for treatment of chronic weight problems. Specifically, the FDA says, it is approved for overweight or obese adults who have one or more medical conditions due to their weight, such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes or high cholesterol. In trials, 47% of patients without type 2 diabetes lost at least 5% of their body weight. By comparison, 23% of patients treated with placebo lost at least 5% of their weight. In people with type 2 diabetes, 38% of patients on Belviq lost at least 5% of their body weight compared to 16% on placebo, according to the FDA. "The results overall are quite modest," said Dr. Melina Jampolis, a physician nutrition specialist and CNN's diet and fitness expert. "But most experts agree that even a 5% weight loss has significant implications in terms of reducing the risk of obesity associated diseases including heart disease and diabetes." The FDA says the manufacturer of Belviq, Arena Pharmaceuticals, will be required to conduct six postmarketing studies, including a long term cardiovascular trial to assess the risk of heart attack and stroke. CNNMoney: Arena surges on weight loss drug approval The most common side effects of Belviq in non-diabetic patients include headache, dizziness and fatigue; and in diabetic patients low blood sugar and pain, according to the FDA. |
  About this blog
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love. Recent Comments
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I'm not trying to sound like a wise guy, but why not skip the pill and just do the "reduced- calorie diet and exercise" part of the weight loss program? It would seem like if this part was done the pill might not even be necessary.
YOU BEAT ME TO IT! HAHAHA!
Because you would still be hungry even if you eat less food. If the drug does work then you would not desire additional food.
That is exactly where I was going to go too!!! lol
If you've never walked in these people's shoes- you shouldn't have a comment. Just saying!
I am on a reduced calorie diet (1500) and have lost 50 pounds in 3.5 months. I think usagainstyou is correct. If I'm hungry – I'll drink more water. Oh no, one night I go to bed slightly hungry – I am not going to die from that. People shouldn't use this pill as a crutch – they should learn that they can make changes for the better without some little pill.
Because if a simple answer like that actually worked, it would have already worked for these people. Simple answers that don't produce the expected results are somehow flawed.
Silly, If you EAT and are still hungry, stop crying & grow up.... THAT is why they are FAT, no one told them NO!
@usaagainstyou theye didn't have to do that much work to put it on, so why do that much to take it off?
And I agree. It's not rocket science.
So let me get this straight, the people with the placebo lost the same amount of weight? I think i will go with the placebo and skip the side effects
I agree and I'm one of those people who has made the necessary changes to go from overweight to in-shape. But really if it were as simple as telling yourself you're going to do it, then nobody would be overweight! And a lot of the people along the way who ran their mouths the loudest were people who never exercise, eat McDonald's every day, yet somehow manage to avoid being grossly overweight. Genes, I guess?
My point here is that most people really don't know what a challenge it is. It's hard work and most people just aren't up to it. Not that I'm advocating for a pill, but it strikes me that a pill can be part of the solution. How many people would make a better effort to change over to a healthier lifestyle if they had a little help from a pill? And I think you're a lot more likely to make long-term changes if you can just muster the willpower to stick with it beyond those first few months. Maybe this pill will help people to do that.
I agree. I've gone from being a 47.5 BMI to a 36.8 BMI in about 6 months simply by eating healthier and exercising. And the great thing about my changed eating habits? I'm NEVER hungry, because if I want to snack on something, I reach for vegetables or an occasional fruit.
Changing eating habits obviously takes discipline, but it CAN be done without any need for surgery, gimicks or pills.
usagainstyou: I think the key here is that the drug helps MORE than the other factors alone... sort of like why we put casts on broken bones (bones tend to heal anyways - the cast just makes it heal *better*).
Basically, we are talking about a medical condition (obesity) that is harmful, not about a moral judgement of the cause. If the medical condition can be treated better by using this drug in addition to the other actions, how is that the wrong choice?
I wish only the worst metabolic condition for those who show no sympathy towards someone that can't lose weight no matter the level of exercise or dieting.
Walk a mile in their moccasins and maybe you won't be so righteous
You're assuming it is a real drug and not an FDA approved placebo
Now the conservatives have two pills: one for their lard asses and viagra for their limp units!
One of the great difficulties for people to lose weight is because although, they cut calories they may still be hungry which can cause many to over eat. I'm not sure why if this can help people lose weight would be a problem. If someone is over weight that's a problem, if they try and lose weight through means that others may not approve that's a problem.
Yes – good point – but there are some people out there (my daughter for example) that have a genetic problem that causes them to gain weight. Look up the Melanocortin receptor 4 deficiency – there is a receptor in the brain that doesn't communicate properly causing the person to always be hungry, be extra tall for their age and extra heavy for their age among other issues. I get so aggravated with people that are so quick to jump the diet and exercise bandwagon and assume everyone has to just follow those rules to lose weight. Sadly, there are people out there that that just isn't enough for. It's a daily battle to steer her in the proper direction for healthier foods and more exercise. Trying hard NOT to slap some smart a$$ comment out there to you all but I realize a great many of you speak in ignorance. Educate yourselves before you cast the first stone please.
Pill Nation...
I'm guessing you are rich, perfect, and have never been addicted to anything. Lucky you.
simple exercise and getting rid of friends who dont tell u like it is......
How come they never use my face in these pics????
FDA finally approved exercise?!
I understand those who are saying "just eat better and work out more!" but for some people it is very, very difficult. I hope long-term studies show this doesn't cause heart attacks like Phen-Phen back in the day. However, I think medicine like this will get people away from stomach-stapling surgery which should be banned. Now THAT is dangerous.
People just need to stop eating like pigs and exercise
apparently it it wasn't so "very, very difficult" just 30 years ago or so.
and now it's "very, very difficult" for 2/3rds of American adults.
Weight loss was no easier 30 years ago. People didn't gain as much weigh to start with at that time, but they were not any better at losing it once it got on.
What changed over the past 30 years? Subsidies of unhealthy food, increased dependance on automobiles, longer hours at desk jobs, bigger restaurant portions, pizza is now a vegetable. People must have gotten lazy.
rep, There is big difference in society 30 years ago than today, folks live further away from work and fast food is much more available than it was back then. But continue to be stuck in 1982 if you like.
You can always just eat less, work out, walk, and get out of the living room. To suppress your hunger, just drink water.
That just makes you want to pee
Water stops me feeling thirsty, not hungry.
I think your advice is great for some but might not work for others. If this pill, weight loss surgery etc might help someone lose weight than why not?
Does no one notice that the placebo worked better than this drug, and that millions were likely spent on the testing of it? Something is severely wrong with this study, with this drug and with the world we live in!!! stop eating garbage
it kind of reads like that at a glance but the pill performed as twice as well. Still put me down for eating right and exercise. Lot's of strategies to combat "hunger" thoughts. Water, sugar free gum, apple cider vinegar, green tea, go for a walk etc. Like others have mentioned this product will turn out to be dangerous.
read again please
They may have edited the text of the article since you posted your comment, but if not, try reading for comprehension.
Big pharma strikes again. Pills are the answer to everything.
While everyone knows it's alcohol that is the answer to everything.
At least we are a Drug Free America (lots of sarcasm)
My thoughts exactly
Need to eat something with few calories but lots of "bulk"?
1) Air popped popcorn – very little salt/butter added
2) Apples
3) carrots
4) Tea – unsweetened
5) Water
Cram youself with the above foods and you will feel full and lose wait... and poop out wicker furniture.
1) Popcorn = Gas
2) Apple = Gas
3) Carrots = makes stomach hurt
4) Tea = already had coffee
5) Water = have to go pee.
johnnyboy..seriously..you sound like a spoiled child. stop making excuses and start making changes. If you think losing weight will be painless and you'll feel great all the time...well.. then you will never lose weight. Only yourself to blame.
RM13, I have IBS and the top two things listed gives me gas, and yes I run about 5 miles a day and try to eat right, but you want to be a diet nazi go right ahead.
You can train yourself to eat less food, this is for the especially weak minded. If you are obese than dropping a couple hundred calories a day and a walk at night or some lite calisthenics every day will set you on the right path without the harmful side effects.
Jedi mind tricks over food, right?
they have this already, its called FullBar, no pill needed. I bet in a couple of years we will see Attorney adds for a class action law suit for this drug just like every other.......
it's like that scene from the Jim Carrey movie when his client called asking what he should do after being arrested for the 100th time, Jim Carrey yells, "Stop breaking the law!!" If you have weight issues, eat less food!!
Today the issue of ticketing instead of arresting people for marijuana was voted into Chicago by 38-2 then signed by the mayor. So you cannot get arrested in Chicago for pot anymore but that didn't make this site.
the reporter covering that beat was stoned...she'll get to it dude, hang in there...
Instead of using a pill to suppress hunger, people should use willpower...Its considerably cheaper and healthier.
Ha ha ha...Big Pharma cashing in on people's utter stupidity. Of course, it is easier to take a pill (which will probably kill you anyway), than learn a thing or two about your own body, metabolism, and eat properly and get off your butt. Fools, the world is full of them. As P.T. Barnum once said....
It truly is amazing how many overweight people we have out there. Watching food commercials is a trip. No wonder we have this level of obesity. Burger this, Cheesy Bread that....fries, cokes. I have been a veggie for 33 years and am very active (outside of my sedentary job). My weight has been the same for about 20 years.
Overeating, unlike other addictive behaviors, is quite unique. Think about it. If someone is addicted to drugs, what do they do? They stop taking drugs. If they gamble, they stop gambling. If they drink, they stop drinking. Those traditional addiction therapies recognize that there is no "just one more drink", no "just one more hand of cards", no "just one more fix" and insist on complete withdrawal.
Overeating is unique - you have to cut back on what you are addicted to, but are still exposed to food every day and everywhere. You HAVE to eat to survive. You can't stop eating. That makes dealing with this problem MUCH more difficult.
Amen, Bob, Amen. You have to eat to survive, but the diet Nazis are out in force.
I've lost 60 lbs without drugs and I can personally tell you this entire line of reasoning is just complete BS. Shut up and stop eating. Start exercising... Adjust to the new calorie level and shut the hell up 🙂 Always an excuse in this country. Excuses excuses excuses.
It's not unique, there are other addictions that are unhealthy to give up entirely, but it is a different sort of thing than drug addiction. You don't have a huge industry out there pushing you to have another joint, and advertising that you can get twice as high for the same price using their product. And we don't have the federal government giving drug makers financial incentives to make less healthy drugs. My boss has never ordered a large water pipe with extra cheese to encourage me to stay late at work and skip going to the gym.
let's see, I lost 100 lbs between 2005 and 2008, during that process I broke my ankle, developed planer facitus, started getting back pain and developed IBS. So, there aren't any excuses here. Just pain and discomfort.
johnnyboy: congrats on the weight loss
I have IBS and recurring hemmorhoids and anal fissures. Any other excuses?
I used Chantix to quit smoking and it worked GREAT! I hope this helps alot of people. I know all the "skinny" people of the world are boo hooing this and all I have to say to them is screw you.
Pizza did you read what i said, I lost weight silly.
Been there, done that, got over it when the scale tipped at almost 300 pounds. Once I got rid of all the junk in my kitchen and educated myself about healthy eating, that's all she wrote. Down 64 pounds and 5 dress sizes so far and never looking back.
Food addiction CAN be overcome once the underlying cause is conquered. It's not a "disease", so stop with the victim mentality already!
So American, why diet and why exercise if there's a pill for it. That's what make us the country with the highest obesity problems. People just eat like pigs and watch TV, become cows to then go to disability and live out of taxpayers ... the American way!
Maybe you had trouble reading the article - more likely you just didn't bother. But this drug is prescribed IN ADDITION to other weight loss techniques such as eating fewer calories and exercising more.
Sadly, there is no drug on the market available to help those who don't want to actually read...
Just keep eating til you die. We'll all be better off. Stop saving idiots from themselves.
Agree!, lets get rid of all the fat lazy people
Agree!, lets get rid of all the obese lazy people
Great idea, Pizza! By the same token, we should stop treating sexually transmitted diseases, since those are clearly caused by stupid behavior... for that matter, most bacterial infections occur when people don't take care of themselves; maybe we should only give medicine to people who *deserve* to be treated.
For example: if you eat meat, no heart medicine. If you *ever* eat foods with processed sugar, no medicine for diabetes or other related ailments. If you have ever played in a contact sport, no treatment for broken bones... and so on...
To quote Huey Lewis "I need a new drug, One that won't make me sick, One that won't make me crash my car, Or make me feel three feet thick" It's that last part really... A pill for this a pill for that. Come on USA, get off our collective butts & MOVE! It's just embarrassing to see how some people treat their body temple.
Americans will use this, it will become extremely popular and then it will get pulled off the market.. Just like any other weight loss drug.. 6 months a year tops
Stop eating fatties! Manage your calorie intake and exercise. If you burn off more calories than you take in – you lose weight. Does not take magic.
Alot of people have jobs, families and homes they have to tend to and can't go the the gym everyday and work out. I'm so glad for all you skinny people that can either tolerate living in filth or can afford a maid.
Oh, come on...you don't have 30 minutes throughout the day to walk? You can break up exercise into 10 minute segments and still get the same benefits.
And how long does it take to grill a piece of chicken or fish and heat up some frozen vegetables? 15 minutes, tops?
@jbmw
Bull. Total bull. Cut 'Two and a Half Men' and 'CSI' out of your weekly routine and you've got gym time with extra to spare. Unless you're working two or more jobs to make ends meet, then you're just weak-willed.
Like others, i have done the stuff yourself with airpop corn, celery & water and still be hungry. But its not true hunger, its always an emotional pain that food has been my comfort, which is why high fat or starch works & others dont.I have become a food addict to mask my pain. As a nation, we need to get at root problems, not bandaid solutions. Oh, if i were drug or alcohol addict, my work has rehab thru insurance. My 'drug' of choice is food? Obviously I am just fat & lazy & should deal with it is the mentality I get thrown at me.
You can always do outpatient therapy (which is typically covered under most insurance plans) and pair that with going to Overeaters Anonymous meetings...
I did the outpatient therapy thing and that worked for me. Now I'm addicted to healthy living. 🙂
This is whats wrong with America. FDA approval justifies that it is reasonable for people to rely on a drug to lose 5% of their body weight. Once again, big pharmas win...
Stop eating like children. Stop driving like children. Stop voting like children. Stop parenting like children.
We have lost our moral compass with these designer drugs. So, 5% weight loss for 47% of users, compared to 5% weight loss for 23% of people on the placebo? That made it through FDA approval? Someone got paid...
5% weight loss for someone morbidly obese can easily be almost totally water retention reduction. So we are going to now have doctors happily scribbling away prescriptions for overweight people to consume a hydrochloride compound (the same basic ingredient in anti-depressants..which we still don't really know exactly how or why they work, or what the long term effects are) – to temporarily lose a few pounds?
We need better education, clarity on menu item caloric content, smaller portions, etc. The difference in obesity incidence in rural USA versus cities or other countries is startling. Dialing in a sketchy almost zero-value drug is NOT the answer.
PEOPLE before you run out and spent a hundred+ dollars on this new drug do a little research! These trials lasted a year and some of the participants lost up to 5% of their body weight. So, say you started at 250 pounds, losing five percent of your body weight meant a staggering 12 pound weight loss in a year. wow, that's some wonder drug....
And keep in mind this is body weight, not necessarily fat.
The actual words used say "at least 5%" not "up to 5%". It only takes a little distortion to change the meaning a lot.
Crystal Meth? I know quite a few people that have lost weight on that
Problem is folk won't exercise and they definitely won't if they are fatigued. Plastic surgeons will make a killing off of this.
I've lost 60 lbs without drugs and I can personally tell you this entire line of reasoning is just complete BS. Shut up and stop eating. Start exercising. Adjust to the new calorie level and shut the hell up 🙂 Always an excuse in this country. Excuses excuses excuses.
drink 8 glass of water a day and always be happy, it will help you.
That's weird...I didn't think exercise needed FDA approval.
Like a lot of drugs, does this one have to be taken with food?
Dang...I thought they had finally come up with a pill you just take and lose weight...eat what you want, no exercise, just take a pill. Maybe in the next decade they will for now eat less and do more usually leads to weight loss or at least control.
I'm going to Wendy's. Anybody want anything?
Dave Thomas
If the pill helps you lose weight, I'm all for it. Some of the commentators seem not to realize how difficult it is to lose weight. If it was easy, Americans wouldn't be so fat. It is very difficult – more so for some than others.
it is not that hard to skip 30 minutes of TV a day to get some exercise and eat proper portions.
You are right jason. It must have already worked, so I don't understand why they developed this drug. Oh, wait, it hasn't worked. I'm sure you are right anyway, must be a conspiracy.
Gretchen, your words are the top of the foolish pile! The only reason you think it is difficult to to lose weight is because you don't really know how to try! (stop stuffing your obese mouth is step one). The next step is understanding that society as a whole is not really any help, you have to do this yourself. Which means learning that if "food" comes in a box or a package or has lost the ability to rot/mold quickly (meaning it is preserved) then it is not food. The reason Americans are so overweight is that they exemplify the 3 main characteristics of humanity that makes humanity such a disease to Earth – We are 1.LAZY 2. SELFISH 3. STUPID. Have a great day everyone!!! 🙂
Janet, please get an education. Thanks!
It's not really that hard...you just need discipline and the willingness to educate yourself on nutrition, fitness and health...then follow through with action. 6 months in, I'm down 64 pounds, doing full-fledged push-ups and planks, and I'm down 5 dress sizes. And I still enjoy an occasional slice of cheesecake!
Its the high fructose corn syrup ... Its in everything.
how about skip the pills, use some self control and eat less. Then gett off your butt and go for a jog maybe?
got any ibuprofen or tylenol for joint pain afterword?
Monday ran 7 miles, afterwords Knees swelled up and ankle hurt.
Tuesday lifted weights and rode bike, Solider and left foot hurt.
Wednesday, will run again and have pain afterword, hopefully it will be worth it.
Seriously Johnnyboy just shut up. You are such a dumb troll. If you really exercise as much as you do then you should use the computer to educate yourself instead of blowing up the comments section of news articles.
"Popcorn – gas, apples – gas...I run 5 miles almost every day...Do you have anything for joint pain? Monday I ran 7 miles and my knees swelled up and ankle hurt. Hyuck hyuck". Get a life, seriously. "Wah, it hurts to jog and I'm fat even though I 'run everyday'". Well Johnnyboy, look at my name if you need a hint as what to do from now on.
Eat less, eat healthier, get off your ass and excercise regulary. This will help most overweight or obese people. End of story.
I hate learning things like this, so absolutely unnecessary. Just stop eating you darn fools! What do you think, you'll die if you go a few days without food??!! Just take a break for a couple of days, drink water all day, and spend the time reading about what true food actually is. When you start to eat again, make it fruit. Then vegetable, then nuts, seeds, legumes etc. Flesh if you feel it necessary. Use this method to change your (awful!!!) habits, give it 3-9 months, all of your so-called health problems will go away (and so will all associated healthcare fat people costs making the whole country smile 🙂
Not eating is not a viable option, because starvation just lowers the metabolism of people even more. The key is to actually eat more often, but make it healthy, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts in small amounts, lowfat or nonfat dairy, lean proteins, and/or legumes.
Actually, they big-bellied guy with the yellow tank top in the above picture is kinda sexy.
To all the "it's easy to eat less, drink water, and lose weight":
You have to exercise. And the problem is, a lot of overweight people have joint damage, or other health factors in play that reduce or remove the option of exercise. As a person with gout and with gluten intolerance issues, some days just walking across a room takes all your resolve. So if a pill can help reduce my weight, and thusly reduce the pain level of the gout/gluten, then exercising becomes easier, and I lose more weight, and the pain level gets less...
That's what this pill is for: folks that need to lose weight, but where diet and/or exercise are not the only factors involved.
There's other options for exercise, such as doing things from a seated position (there are websites with these kinds of exercises) for those with mobility issues. There are also options such as swimming in order to exercise.
My girlfriend needs this, she has gained at least 150 pounds since we started dating. Anytime I bring up the fact she needs to go work out she beats me and storms off to the bedroom with a tub of ice cream 😦
In this thread, you will find 80% of the comments from people who think they know the answer, and that somehow this can't be the answer. These people are idiots. It's not a 1 answer thing. The people claiming this is a moral issue are the stupidest of all. The people who think "just stop eating and just exercise right" is a solution have never been there. Oh sure, maybe 10 pounds or even 50 pounds too high, then they dieted and it went away. But that's not what the drug's for is it? It's for people with serious problems due to weight. People 300, 400 or more. The FDA is there for a reason. Otherwise, we'd all be considering homeopath nonsense and snake oil, and drugs which kill you to be on equal footing as actual medicine. People disliking the FDA are uneducated about it. My advice: stop feeling superior for being able to make snide remarks. It only shows you to be utterly lacking in critical thinking ability.
I'm sorry Will, but 5% of 300 pounds is 15 pounds. That is absolutely ridiculous for a pill!
Lol, sounds like someone needs to get off their lard butt and video lifestyle and begin eating healthy! Even 400 lbs is easy to lose if you want to. And all the conditions that have arisen in your body due to your lack of health/food understanding since your teenage years ? Well, those are major problems that have to be addressed along the way. The reason you smugly sneer at "homeopathic" is you have been indoctrinated to think if someone is vegan and doing yoga, then they must be a "health nut". More American crap...time for the meteor shower!
"The reason you smugly sneer at "homeopathic" is you have been indoctrinated" No. The reason I sneer at homeopathic is because it's just WATER! There's literally no active ingredient. It's nonsense, and proven to be nonsense by every scientific study of it. Thanks for showing my point, that most people in this thread look like utter idiots, like you, because of a lack of education.
Send them to Cuba, that will trim them up within 1 year...joke, but really, too much food around to eat is obviously not a good thing for these folks. God help them because a pill is not going to do the trick.
This country really needs help, and the FDA is a complete joke. What happened to self-discipline? Oh right, that might offend some people because they won't be able to do what they want. There's a 3-inch opening below our noses and it's called a mouth people. Stop shoving food into it and you will lose weight!
AT LEAST being the key word, Bill. Please get an education and actually read the study. You need a metric to decide. You could use average weight loss, but then outliers have higher effect than the average result. So you choose a threshold. 5% is a reasonable threshold. You were hoping a drug resulted in 200 pounds per year? Then you are unreasonable.
I mean I get the feeling you're the kind of dunce that thinks "geez what are cocain addicts worried about? All you gotta do is not do coke, and then you're cured" or... "Man, I don't see the problem with the Middle East. Just stop shooting and it'll be all peaceful" or... "I know how to stop crime! Just stop allowing people to steal and kill!" You make yourself look darn uneducated, Bill.
Soooo...now the patients will be clamoring for this and the good doctors will have to give up on recommending healthful behavior or they'll lose patients to a doc with less moral compass. Maybe in the future they'll work out a diet where so many milligrams of this wonder drug will cancel out a Double Whopper with cheese...
I've read a lot of stupid posts on this web board. Apparently, many Americans think that because it is possible for some people to lose weight simply by modifying exercise and eating habits, medicines should NOT be allowed to anyone for weight loss.
Clearly, these posters think that those who are overweight are weak-willed or lazy or something... and somehow the posters think that is justification to deny them medicine that could actually HELP their condition. It is really quite sad... but not surprising.
As someone who succeeded at losing a substantial amount of weight by modifying my eating habits and exercising, I know it can be done. Maybe you're just not trying hard enough to eat healthy and get off your butt and go for a walk....
What is wrong with just taking hoodia? Its natural and has been, side effect free, for hundreds of years!
When will people realize a pill wont solve anything! There is no magic pill! Im willing to bet that in a few years this will be pulled off the market anyway when people die from the side effects.
"When will people realize a pill wont solve anything! " Dude, ever take an antibiotic? They do things. Get educated, please.
There is only one way to lose weight. Take in less calories, and burn more calories. Thats it, its extremely simple.
If you are more active and eat less you will lose weight. You dont even need to change what you eat, tho that can certainly help.
The drugs, the fad diets, the gym memberships, all a waste of time.
Either you WANT to lose weight and you will eat less and become more active, or you wont. No drug will solve your problems, no fad diet will solve your problems, etc.
Its as simple as for instance parking at the far end of a parking lot and walking across it instead of parking in the first row. Taking the stairs to go up a few floors in a building instead of riding the elevator or the escalator. You dont need to be killing yourself at the gym, just get out and move more during the things you already do.
If you try to do a 180 turn on your diet and exercise in one day, its just not going to happen. Take small steps, the little things are EASY to do and add up in the long run. If it took you years to get fat, its going to take you years to lose it. There is no quick fix.
It's so amazing that you are able to dismiss medical science so easily. The fact that YOU believe nobody should take medicine for this medical condition is, well, important to you. But unless you can refute the actual scientific data produced, your opinion sounds pompous and ill-informed.
You are right that a person has to WANT to lose weight to have success. You are also correct that they need lifestyle changes. But why do you insist they not also you medicine - even if it HELPS?
Actually, a gym membership helped me in my weight loss effort. It kept me from being bored, since there is a limit to what I can do in my 1 bedroom apartment.
"There is only one way to lose weight. Take in less calories, and burn more calories."
Holier than thou you may see yourself, this is an incredibly ignorant statement. Thankfully we have many medically trained professionals in the world that understand far more than your ignorance.
This is just a short term fix. I know several people that used phen/fen and gained back all the lost weight as soon as they went off the pills. Eating healthy and exercising need to be part of a routine and engrained in one’s lifestyle.
This is not the same drug, so it may help differently. Additionally, it is only prescribed in conjunction with lifestyle changes.
But I agree that short term weight loss without lifestyle changes is essentially useless.
Just watch... the prescription bottle is going to come with a warning "Take with Food".
Funny!