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Slim Chance
Can a weight loss capsule take off 20, 30, 40 pounds?

by Colleen Moriarty

Americans are learning to downsize everything — except for food portions and our bodies. Despite efforts by government and private organizations, the obesity epidemic is a runaway train. And, just as there's no magic bullet for any big health problem, there’s no magic weight loss capsule.

Or is there? Promising new weight-loss research has many in the diabetes and scientific communities optimistic about pharmaceutical answers to obesity. The weight-loss drugs on the market today promise losses of five to 10 percent of body weight. In the drug manufacturers’ pipeline, trials are underway for several drugs, like Qnexa by Vivus, that project weight loss of up to 14.7 percent of body weight. (See next page for drug details.)

“If a new medication that is safe and effective is released, it would be a welcome addition to the treatment of any overweight patient but especially diabetes patients,” R. Keith Campbell, RPH, FASHP, FAPHA, a professor of diabetes and pharmacotherapy at Washington State University College of Pharmacy in Pullman, WA. More than 80 percent of type 2 diabetes is related to or exacerbated by weight.

The drugs in the pipeline get their fat-burning power from formulas that combine two or more drugs. “We realize that there are many pathways that affect overeating,” says Caroline Apovian, M.D. director of the Nutrition and Weight Management Center at Boston Medical Center in Boston, MA, and a spokesperson for the American Diabetes Association. “The research is indicating that we need to use combinations in order to get the weight off and keep it off,” Apovian says. One drug being tested by Amylin Pharmaceuticals includes pramlintide (the ingredient in their Symlin diabetes medication) along with metreleptin, which helps regulate the metabolism of fat and glucose .

While the future looks bright, many bulge-busting drugs are still months to years away from making it to the market with the FDA’s rigorous stamp of approval. And while the promise to help obese patients is encouraging, there’s still no miracle weight loss capsule. “It is more than just giving a patient a drug, and magically weight melts away,” says Campbell. “It takes an empowered patient who also learns to eat in a healthy manner and exercise to lose weight and keep it off.”


>>NEXT: Drugs Available Now and Drugs in the Pipeline>>