Dr. Mercola August 23 2003 1,161 views
Although the anti-obesity drug Xenical (Orlistat) is only supposed to be prescribed when diet and exercise fail, prescriptions in the U.K. have increased some 300 percent from 1999 when the drug first appeared on the market.
The drug works by blocking the absorption of fat in the gut and is meant to be taken as part of a low-fat diet.
In the U.K., the prevalence of obesity is increasing in both adults and children. Some attribute the increase in Xenical prescriptions to its widespread acceptance among the medical community.
A reliance on drugs in the United States is already bad enough, but in socialistic countries like England the problem could be far worse as the drugs are paid for by the government. Nearly two-thirds of the country is overweight so it would seem there would be a nearly unlimited demand for this type of "simple" solution.
The drug does not work to solve the cause of obesity in any way, however. Plus, it perpetuates the low-fat myth since it is supposed to be taken with a low-fat diet. Anyone who is familiar with this site knows that a low-fat diet, though useful for some, is not the answer to weight loss for the majority of people.
Fortunately, The No-Grain Diet will be published in England in January 2004, and I will be lecturing in London early next year to get out the message that sugars and grains--not fat--are often the culprits behind obesity. Of course, inactivity is another major part of the problem.
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