Is Acomplia weight loss drug a threat to health clubs?

A much better approach to losing weight with the help of drugs is probably the upcoming PYY nasal spray product from Nastech / Merck. This uses a natural hormone (PYY) that you inhale to make you feel full more quickly.

• One of the big health stories of 2004 was development of Acomplia, also known as Rimonabant, a diet drug which shows real promise for sustained weight loss.
• In early clinical trials, Acomplia is looking promising.
• But with only 3,000+ people tested so far, it has a way to go before being approved by the FDA.
• With the raging obesity problem, more and more people are seeking ways to lose weight without the pain and drudgery of dieting or working out.
• The fitness industry frowns upon the notion of popping a pill to lose weight after all the battle cry is "The pain is the gain".
• 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.
• The drug's manufacturer, Sanofi-Aventis, an international pharmaceutical, headquartered in Paris, plans to apply for FDA approval in 2005.
• A decision by the agency will then take up to 10 months.
• Diet pills have been around for decades offering different attempts at suppressing appetite or speeding up the metabolism.
• But Acomplia offers a new technology known as a cannabinoid type I (CB1) blocker, it's the first of an entirely new class of drugs, which works by blocking a pleasure center in the brain.
• From the standpoint of researchers, the drug is clearly a breakthrough.
• Will the entire fitness industry be challenged one day by the discovery of a magic diet pill?