By Harry Jackson Jr.
www.stltoday.com
Alli -- Safety of New Weight-Loss Drug is Questioned

A new over-the-counter weight-loss drug called Alli may give people with eating disorders another tool to harm themselves, local therapists fear.

Alli — pronounced "AL-eye" — is the only weight-loss medicine on the market approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration. It's half the dose of the prescription drug orlistat, trade name Xenical, which is used to fight morbid obesity.

Dr. Randall Flanery, head of the Eating Disorders Program for the St. Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute, says the new drug is ripe for abuse because young people with eating disorders find the side effects of intense diarrhea and other gastrointestinal problems that empty the digestive system inviting.

People who use diet products to bolster their eating disorders "… tend to take them at much higher dosages than recommended, as much as 10 times," Flanery says. "It's analogous to laxatives. People with eating disorders take 10 to 50 (laxative pills) at a time. They become dependent and take higher and and higher dosages."

Another danger is that the medicine is approved by the FDA "… and people will believe that because it's over-the-counter and FDA-approved, it must be safe," Flanery says. "It's not."

The drug should be kept behind counters and monitored for distribution to make sure that at least teens don't have access to it, Flanery says.

www.dontgetthin-gethealthy.com
By Loraine Holden
Diet Drugs in on-line news

Diet drugs always get attention. Too many people have tried everything to lose weight. I want to analyze the information about Alli and Hoodia.

Alli is being promoted by Smith, Kline Glaxo. The write-up is very honest, saying that their pill is not magic and only in addition to exercise and a healthy diet. They say subjects who took Alli lost 2-3 pounds more than the 5 pounds lost by control subjects during the same time. If this is a healthy 5 lbs. a month, will another 2 pounds really make you want to use the pill? It works by causing 25% of the fat in your diet not to be absorbed. However the side effect of loose stools can be troublesome.

The write-up about Alli says nothing about possible non-absorption of desireable oil-soluble vitamins A, D, and E. or if it interferes with omega 3 fish oils or flax oil. I’m reminded of a product touted in the 1950s that would keep your body from absorbing sodium so you could keep your blood pressure normal. The product was a synthetic resin. Capsules would be too big, so they advised mixing it with your mashed potatoes. It was unacceptable by the public so marketing ceased. People said why not just use less salt Similarly, becasue of the potentially embarrassing side effects, wouldn’t you rather just use 25% less fat?