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A $2 (1.2 Euro) Slimming Pill Against Obesity Pandemic

The Alli

By Stefan Anitei, Science Editor

16th of April 2008, 18:06 GMT

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Obesity involves in most cases a lack of will. And the pandemic is rising. For most of these people eating less and healthier or exercising represent terrible ordeals. Taking a pill would be the ideal solution.

There is already Xenical, a prescription-only anti-obesity drug. Its active chemical is Orlistat, a lipase inhibitor: it

inactivates the enzymes called lipases, responsible for breaking down fat in the gut. The idea is too decrease the amount of digested fat from the food; the rest is eliminated with the stool.

Xenical (120 g) makes you eliminate 30% of the ingested fat; Alli (60 g) has just half of its Orlistat content. In U.S., the drug was launched in June 2007, and sells already exceeded $150 million. The product of GlaxoSmithKline could be available soon in Europe, first in the UK by 2009.
Xenical is said to reduce body weight by 10%.

Alli will be prescription free and it will cost just £1 (1.2 Euro, $2) daily and the company states it will make you lose 50% more weight in the case of dieting. This means that if you lose weight by diet and exercise 2lb (0.9 kg) weekly, adding Alli will rise this to 3lb (1.35 kg).

But Alli comes with a nasty side effect: chronic diarrhea. More than 15 g of fat in a meal, and the effect is guaranteed. You don't have to feast on cheese, mayonnaise or other products for this: 15 g of fat can be found even in the cream of a Frappuccino. Another effect is bloating, oily orange stools and some fecal incontinence, because of the malabsorption.

Also a health effect could be the inhibiting of the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins A (involved in vision and immunity), D (involved in calcium metabolism), E and K. A daily multi-vitamin pill is required.

But people are rather fooled: the real effect of Orlistat on the bodyweight is weak and this cannot replace a healthy lifestyle. In clinical trials, subjects are motivated and supported by a staff.

The pill requires changes in lifestyle and Alli by itself reduces less than 2.5% of total body weight. It saves you of just 100kcal daily, as much as in a few French fries. Many see a business opportunity in Xenical.

Anyhow, doctors warn that this is a myth of obesity treated with a pill.

Others see a behavioral change due to the pill, as consumers must avoid fat-rich foods. And mentally, it can encourage people to skew to healthier diets.

TAGS:

slim | fat | pill

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