Willpower Pill
There's a new diet drug being tested and approved right now, sort of a "Willpower Pill," expected to be made available by 2006.
"The drug works by suppressing cravings to smoke and over-eat by acting on the body’s endocannabinoid system, a natural physiological system that regulates energy balance."
Weight-loss drugs tend to be too good to be true (e.g., Fen-Phen and its frightening side-effects) and are scorned by people who feel like medication is the lazy way out of the problem of overweight. But so far there's been no such thing as a lazy way out or a magic pill. Even gastric bypass surgery is falliable and the post-surgery lifestyle requires a great deal of discipline.
So what about this new pill? I have no idea. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
"The drug works by suppressing cravings to smoke and over-eat by acting on the body’s endocannabinoid system, a natural physiological system that regulates energy balance."
Weight-loss drugs tend to be too good to be true (e.g., Fen-Phen and its frightening side-effects) and are scorned by people who feel like medication is the lazy way out of the problem of overweight. But so far there's been no such thing as a lazy way out or a magic pill. Even gastric bypass surgery is falliable and the post-surgery lifestyle requires a great deal of discipline.
So what about this new pill? I have no idea. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
posted by mo pie at 9:38 AM
11 Comments:
Wow, Jennifer, that is really interesting!
I loved phen/phen and had no bad sad effects at all- except losing 70lbs and feeling like a frickin' rock star! I was regularly monitored, and since they pulled them, have had my heart checked more than once. All good.
People take pills all the time for one disease that can cause serious and frightening side effects as a result- just listen or read the warnings on everything from laxatives to viagra...
IMHO- gimme the pill. Bwaaaaaa....
I agree with first anonymous post. I took fen-phen and lost 50 pounds. I was regularly monitored and had no bad side effects. Weight loss is hard, really hard and I think that overweight people have more than a lack of will power problem. People take drugs for other illnesses/conditions, so why not take them for weight loss? I think that in 10 years or so, we will know a lot more about obesity than we do now and will come to find out that it is a condition and not laziness.
I have to strongly disagree with the idea that obesity is a condition. I won't go so far as to say that it is caused by laziness, but it's like saying that lung cancer is a condition of smoking.
It's generally self-inflicted (yes, I acknowledge there are genuine medical conditions that result in weight gain), the result of choices that we make. The choice not to eat better quality food, the choice to eat over- sized portions, the choice to not exercise regularly.
If anything needs treating, it's the reason we make these choices, not the results of them.
I agree that obesity is not a "disease"- but a slower than fuck metabolism is actually "treatable" with a pill. And the chemical release of endorphins is possible with a pill.
I actually have trouble with people who insist that while obesity is not a "disease" it is simply something that a little mental therapy as to why we eat is the key. Or stating that it is wrong food choices or eating too much.
I know my metabolism is slow- I know that I cannot eat more than 1200 calories in a day or I will gain. So, is my problem that I insist of "choosing" to eat or that my body is genetically geared toward gaining and could be helped by a pill?
Not all fat people have emotional eating issues.
Oh- and there's this too...
o·be·si·ty ( P ) Pronunciation Key (-bs-t)
n.
The condition of being obese; increased body weight caused by excessive accumulation of fat.
Jennifer-
Were your comments directed a ladymistree or anonymous? Because I posted that one and you and I are saying the same thing- but your post seems directed to me?
Yeah that is irritating. Someone else said the comments can't be viewed on Mozilla. Plus there's the Anonymous thing, which is irritating.
These comments are an integrated Blogger feature, so they were very very simple to set up. One thing I really like about them is that I am e-mailed the comments, so I don't miss anything and can respond to everything. I'll look into alternatives if Blogger doesn't fix the bugs soon.
Samsarra & Anonymous - perhaps my point was not clear (I've just blogged exactly what I think about this if you want to go read it). Where there are chemical imbalances and the like, absolutely medication is the way to go. But the obesity is a SYMPTOM of that other condition. It's not a disease in itself. Treat the original condition and the symptom is relieved.
The dictionary definition doesn't make it a disease. The definition could read 'the state of being obese' and mean the same thing.
I won't hijack Mo's wonderful blog for this, but I just wanted to clarify what I said earlier. Good, thought provoking stuff.
I work for a pharmaceutical advertising agency and the makers of Remonibant (now called Accomplia, btw) are my clients. Because of the nature of my job I have had access to alot of the data from the clinical trials that are being conducted and I have to say, it really does appear to be a miracle drug of sorts. The published results of an average 19lb weight loss over 2 years are VERY conservative, there are people in these trials who have lost considerable amounts of weight (100 pounds in at least one case I reviewed) and have reported few side effects. I truly believe it has the potential to be a blockbuster, not just because of it's efficacy in the area of weight loss, but also because of the dual indication related to smoking cessation.
I'm all for a drug that can modify behavior to promote better health - who wouldn't be?
Anonymous, thanks for the inside scoop! I would probably take a drug like this once it had been on the market for a while and nobody had keeled over dead. Especially since it seems to still require behavioral changes and isn't like "Eat Twinkies, take pill!"
And guys, thanks for the lovely comments and participation! (And the hosting offer-- as soon as I get the journal set up then I will worry about the blog.) Kiss kiss.
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