In early clinical trials, Acomplia is looking promising. But with only 3,000+ people tested so far, it's far from being approved by the FDA. And even as effective as Acomplia appears to be in early tests, much of the hype is overblown: daily walking or cardiovascular exercise results in far more weight loss. So does giving up the consumption of soft drinks or refined carbohydrates like white flour or added sugars. There are far more effective ways to lose weight and keep it off than popping a diet pill.
Yet the idea of a diet pill is seductive. It's something that doesn't require any exertion whatsoever, and that makes it a perfect fit for many Americans, who seem increasingly unwilling to actually take any action in order to achieve lasting results. What they want is a magic weight loss pill. And so far, Acomplia looks like the closest solution we've seen yet.
The real test, of course, will come when the potential side effects are fully examined. Will the drug be the next Vioxx or Fen-Phen? Unfortunately, we can no longer trust the drug safety review process of the FDA, meaning that even FDA approval is no guarantee that the drug is safe. We'll only know the answer to that question after a few million people start taking the pills. No doubt, obese Americans will be lining up to volunteer as guinea pigs for this one: weight loss with no effort? Sign me up!
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health researcher, author and award-winning journalist with a mission to teach personal and planetary health to the public He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In mid 2010, Adams produced NaturalNews.TV, a natural health video sharing website offering user-generated videos on nutrition, green living, fitness and more. He's also the founder of a well known HTML email software company whose 'Email Marketing Director' software currently runs the NaturalNews subscription database. Adams is currently the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. He's also author of numerous health books published by Truth Publishing and is the creator of several consumer-oriented grassroots campaigns, including the Spam. Don't Buy It! campaign, and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. He also created the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the ending of corporate control over medicines, genes and seeds.
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Tuesday, November 09, 2004
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