14 DAY TRIAL // With the number of overweight and obese people on the rise in every country, it’s no wonder this is proving to be a very lucrative market for weight loss pills. The only problem is, they don’t really work.
Over the past couple of years, more and more drug companies have come out with weight loss pills that promise anything short of a miraculous end of all our problems.
Even more of the same are available online, with the consumer often at a loss as to which product to choose and for how long.
According to specialists interviewed by the Daily Mail, when it comes to weight loss, the smartest idea is to rely on exercise and a healthy diet only, instead of turning to pills.
From the pills that claim to “bind” fat cells to prevent us from absorbing it, to those made of seaweed, boasting the ability to speed metabolism or even trick the brain into thinking the stomach is full, wannabe slimmers seem to have lots of options available.
However, the truth is, they hardly have any. Most of these pills are labeled as a “certified medical device” whose results have been “clinically proven,” in what is nothing but an attempt on part of the drug companies to confuse people.
As Professor David Haslam, chair of the National Obesity Forum, puts it, the phrase “certified medical device” is actually a legal loophole instead of a clear-cut description of the product on sale.
“Calling a capsule a ‘device’ rather than a ‘foodstuff’ allows these companies to get around the law,” Prof. Haslam says, calling the trick downright “appalling.”
“This is because unlike products in the ‘drug’ or ‘foodstuffs’ categories, ‘devices’ don’t have to provide any evidence of efficacy,” the Mail adds.
“As for ‘clinically proven’, some manufacturers provide research to back their claims – but Professor Haslam points out that although studies show the ingredients themselves may have a small weight-loss effect, in most cases there is no evidence the product in the capsule results in any weight loss,” the same publication points out.
When they speak about tests and studies and results, many drug companies focus on studies on the ingredients and their effects, and not on the product they’re offering as a weight loss pill.
Registered dietician Lorraine McCreary agrees: most weight loss pills don’t work and, even worse, can have devastating effects on our health.
To see a more detailed analysis of the efficiency of the most popular weight loss pills on the market, please see the original Daily Mail piece here.