"Weight loss medications can be modestly effective, and enhance weight loss by 8%-10%, but medication does not work for everyone," says Robert Kushner, MD, a professor of medicine at Northwest University.
"Approved weight loss drugs must prove they are safe and effective with strong scientific evidence in order to pass the stringent FDA approval process," says Aronne, former president of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO).
The Today show nutritionist Joy Bauer, RD, tries to inspire her clients to lose weight the old-fashioned way.
"Very few of my clients rely on supplements or drugs, and my advice is to find the natural health benefits in food," she says. "It is much better to drink a hot cup of green tea that delivers the benefits [of green tea] in a much better form than taking a pill."
So who does do well on weight loss drugs? Before prescribing drugs, experts look at whether patients are eating a variety of healthy food, controlling portion sizes, using strategies to monitor and plan their meals, adhering to reasonable calories goals, and getting exercise.
(SOURCES: Joy Bauer, MS, RD, Today show nutritionist; author, Joy Bauer's Food Cures. Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, spokesperson, American Dietetic Association. Robert Kushner, MD, professor of medicine, Northwestern University; author, Dr. Kushner's Personality Diet. Louis Aronne, MD, director, comprehensive weight control program, New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center. WebMD Feature: "All About Alli." National Institutes of Health Weight Control Network web site. The Practical Guide: Identification, Evaluation and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults, NHLBI, 2000.
Reviewed on October 05, 2007)
In a study for learning disabilities and weight gain in children; Dr. Frank Hu at the Harvard School of Public Health found soft drinks and the sweetener high-fructose corn syrup can be particularly bad, as even one can of soda a day can cause a child to put on 15lbs in a year.
(Am J Clin Nut 2006)
(Am J Clin Nut 2006)
"To lose weight and maintain it, behavior must change!"
