Weight loss supplements: Do they really work?

No

"Oh, you're not obese.' You're just sick! Here, take this pill."

Rather than getting grilled by your doctor over eating habits, exercise schedules and caloric intake, Big Pharma has found a way to rake in billions of dollars while at the same time, easing the guilt trip of so many who are told to "shape up."

And thus, "Metabolic Syndrome" was born.

-Metabolic what?-

Metabolic Syndrome recently burst onto the medical industry scene' as a newly treatable "disease," identifiable by two or more of the following symptoms: obesity and high- cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar or triglycerides.

That covers just about every patriotic fast food aficionado in the country.

While these five factors have long been known to be related to myriad health problems (e.g. heart disease and Type II Diabetes), only in the past few years has the medical industry labeled this clustering of symptoms a disease. And with this new label comes new treatment: prescription drugs, the snazzy new leap toward a "cure."

The National Institute of Health (www.nih.gov) estimates on their Web site that 75 million Americans now have Metabolic Syndrome, whether they know it or not.

However, recurring publications by the American Diabetes Association, or ADA (http://care.diabete sjournals.org), challenge the validity of Metabolic Syndrome as a tool for prescribing weight loss supplements and related drugs. The definition of Metabolic Syndrome itself isn't even agreed upon by varying medical sources, but most of them are good enough to warrant any of the countless pills currently on the market.

The question of whether weight loss supplements are effective or not goes much further than what the scale says. The relationship between the medical industry, pharmaceutical companies and drug marketing determines the value we place on both weight loss drugs how the average person is supposed to look.

-So, do they even work?-

Drugs are just that: drugs. Specifically designed to treat symptoms, drugs for weight loss cannot address underlying health issues, posing dangerous risks to overall health.

The FDA issues regular safety alerts about unexpected side effects, including depression- and anxiety-related effects for weight-loss prescriptions such as Rimonabant and Glucophage, and even severe vision-impairment for Avandia. Worldwide, over 5.3 million patients now take Avandia for their "Metabolic Syndrome," despite research that found only a 7.9-pound difference between the drug's effects and a placebo's (http://www.diabetes .org).

Nevertheless, American society stays pill-happy with a seemingly cure-all weight loss trend.

-How much dough to lose the dough?-

According to the World Health Organization (http://www.who.int/ en/), Americans spent $13 billion worth of Lipitor alone last year. Additionally, direct healthcare costs of obesity-related conditions may reach up to 40% of the U.S. $700 billion annual healthcare budget by the end of this year.

Wired Magazine (2006) projected that within a few years, more than half the revenue of the entire pharmaceutical industry will come from weight-loss drugs made specifically for Metabolic Syndrome.

How's that for a capitalist incentive?

-Getting our money's worth-

Even if weight-loss prescription supplements and drugs produce a slimming effect, we still run the danger of ignoring personal responsibility.

The label "Metabolic Syndrome" allows us to neglect our health because it's infinitely easier to accept that you have some disease and can just get a prescription to fix it than it is to realize that your lifestyle is unhealthy and needs to change.

But can this miracle-pill rhetoric really convince society that simply eating less and exercising regularly don't work on their own? Such a small percentage of obesity is actually attributed to non-food/exercise related issues that a cure-all pill only further deflects the incentive for a healthy lifestyle.

Weight loss supplements don't move toward a society of wholesome, thinner people; they thrive off of already-overweight people who are willing to pay money to continue health choices they made in the first place, all the while remaining guilt-free.

-A Big Mac a day makes the miracle pill' stay-

Weight loss supplements and drugs only address symptoms, meaning a prescription is for life.

Keywords: for life.

No one likes hearing they need to lose weight. Most aren't even conditioned to take criticism well, and criticism oftentimes fails to be the constructive kind. Re-framing obesity and related weight issues as a disease was a genius idea for prolonging denial and personal responsibility.

But in the end, no amount of drugs can "cure" obesity and related symptoms. Sloughing off some pounds with a few doses of Lipitor a day won't psychologically call for a lifestyle change. It calls for regular prescription fills at your local Walgreen's.

With 75 million Americans and counting, pharmaceutical companies have lifelong customers in the bag. And the bag is getting bigger every day. Quite metaphorically, wouldn't you say?

-Where we go from here-

Well, we can all start by running and screaming bloody murder the next time someone tells you they have "Metabolic Syndrome."

Or better yet... embrace the ADA's language. The first step toward not treating obesity like a disease is not calling it a disease. "Cardio-Metabolic Risk" is an ADA-acceptable term, but we really shouldn't be calling people names in the first place.

Lodged into a society that parades stick-thin women and muscle-clad men on every billboard and marketable surface, it's clear why so many feel the need to slim down to an "appropriate" size.

But the truth is, there is no "normal" size. It doesn't exist. If every healthy person on this planet were weighed and calculated to a worldwide average number, the human prototype would crush any old Vogue model. With her or his healthy, meaty arm.

Fat is healthy; we need it to live. Too much is not. But too much' plus a lifetime of drugs is the perfect recipe for pulling a disease label out of thin air, creating a phantom illness to sell a product.

Weight loss supplements should be seen as simply that: "supplements." Not a replacement. Not a cure. It is up to the consumer to understand that prescriptions are not remedies. Yes, a drug can help lower your blood pressure or lose weight, but ultimately, it cannot replace proper diet and exercise. We must care for ourselves before pawning that responsibility off on a doctor or money-making conglomerate.

-The skinny on the solution-

So. If your doctor diagnoses you or a friend with Metabolic Syndrome, remember to first look at the lifestyle choices that address the root of the problem. A lifetime of drugs will never compare to a healthy way of life.

It is both a privilege and a responsibility to explore every option to care for our bodies, but it shouldn't start with a bottle of pills. Regardless of how easy that option sounds, obesity and metabolic issues require a complete solution.

Weight loss supplements and drugs for obesity may have some place in medicine, but the prescription-calling disease label does not.

(Note: In this article, the terms "supplements" and "drugs" are used interchangeably as both are prescribed as treatment.)

Learn more about this author, Lisa Victoria Rau.
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