New Weight Loss Drug Approved

[guido911]

Not sure if this is good news or just a heads up for future pharma lawsuits.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the weight loss drug Belviq for people who are overweight or obese and have one or more weight-related health problems, the agency announced today.

"Obesity threatens the overall well-being of patients and is a major public health concern," Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. "The approval of this drug, used responsibly in combination with a healthy diet and lifestyle, provides a treatment option for Americans who are obese or are overweight and have at least one weight-related comorbid condition."

The drug, made by Arena Pharmaceuticals, acts on a receptor in the brain to help people eat less and feel fuller, according to the FDA statement.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/w_DietAndFitnessNews/fda-approves-weight-loss-drug-belviq/story?id=16661629#.T-ukv_Xhd3Q

[Red Arrow]

Not sure if this is good news or just a heads up for future pharma lawsuits.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/w_DietAndFitnessNews/fda-approves-weight-loss-drug-belviq/story?id=16661629#.T-ukv_Xhd3Q

I wonder how big a part the "healthy diet and lifestyle" plays in:

this drug, used responsibly in combination with a healthy diet and lifestyle

[Conan71]

This will be a real breakthrough until they tie heart attacks, type 2 diabetes, strokes, etc. to the drug.  Never mind that someone abused their body in a way it was never meant to be abused for a number of years before taking the meds.

The formula for weight loss has been the same for eons: eat less, exercise more.

[patric]

Sounds a lot like the marketing for Obetrol and Adderall.  That went well...

[RecycleMichael]

I have had a touch of anorexia lately...got down to about the size of an Olympic gymnast for a couple of days.

I am back to normal now...thanks for asking.

[Red Arrow]

I am back to normal now...thanks for asking.

You're Welcome

[nathanm]

The formula for weight loss has been the same for eons: eat less, exercise more.

That works for most people, but not everyone. Part of the problem is that fat breeds fat. Recent studies have shown that (in other mammals, anyway) fat cells release hormones that induce the body to store more calories as fat rather than burning them. Granted, building muscle does increase resting energy consumption, but it's not quite as easy as eat less, move more. It is a great first step, but less helpful than you would think for folks who are already obese.

[Hoss]

That works for most people, but not everyone. Part of the problem is that fat breeds fat. Recent studies have shown that (in other mammals, anyway) fat cells release hormones that induce the body to store more calories as fat rather than burning them. Granted, building muscle does increase resting energy consumption, but it's not quite as easy as eat less, move more. It is a great first step, but less helpful than you would think for folks who are already obese.

And for some of us with conditions that lend to it (I have moderate hypothyroidism, but my doctor doesn't want me on synthroid just yet...it's genetic as my father had it too.  As well as having chronic fatigue syndrome, which is likely a by-product of that), we struggle with just losing weight.  I exercise as much as I can, and thankfully work at a job where I can get quite a bit of walking in a day (for an office), but sometimes there is extra needed.  And I try not to poison my body.  I just loathe people who preach about what I can and cannot eat.  It's not like I spend half my day at fast food joints (I don't, I enjoy making my own food too much).  I eat more white meats (turkey, chicken, pork) than red.  I've cut back on processed meats especially (hence my query earlier about good meat markets).  My cholesterol is normal, according to my doctor, even though I know I need to lose weight and continuously take steps to do so, for some it's just not that simple.  I was a consistent 185-195 lbs up until my diagnosis of hypothyroidism when I was about 35.

[RecycleMichael]

I went on a seven day diet...all I lost was a week.

[Hoss]

I went on a seven day diet...all I lost was a week.

Sounds like me RM.  Then there are some weeks I can lose 4-5 pounds in a week...


...wait, I see what you did there.

[Conan71]

And for some of us with conditions that lend to it (I have moderate hypothyroidism, but my doctor doesn't want me on synthroid just yet...it's genetic as my father had it too.  As well as having chronic fatigue syndrome, which is likely a by-product of that), we struggle with just losing weight.  I exercise as much as I can, and thankfully work at a job where I can get quite a bit of walking in a day (for an office), but sometimes there is extra needed.  And I try not to poison my body.  I just loathe people who preach about what I can and cannot eat.  It's not like I spend half my day at fast food joints (I don't, I enjoy making my own food too much).  I eat more white meats (turkey, chicken, pork) than red.  I've cut back on processed meats especially (hence my query earlier about good meat markets).  My cholesterol is normal, according to my doctor, even though I know I need to lose weight and continuously take steps to do so, for some it's just not that simple.  I was a consistent 185-195 lbs up until my diagnosis of hypothyroidism when I was about 35.

Have you tried dropping carb intake or investigating a paleo-type diet?  The term "diet" implies a temporary condition to most people, but when I say it I mean more of a lifestyle change.  I've heard great results from people with a similar condition to yours.  Only thing you may not like about it is that the "pure" paleo is gluten-free which may limit your choices on beer.  I'm reading and hearing more and more about gluten's contribution to our obesity problem in the United States.  It's worth Googling anyhow if you haven't already.

I have had to fight my weight since about the time I turned 21, that's one of the reasons I try to ride a bike as much as I do now.  Only problem is, once I got into cycling, I started getting more competitive about it and setting event or race goals.  I'd train like hell for an event or several events, then once I was done with the last one, I really didn't feel like even looking at a bike and realized I'd allowed many other things which needed my attention to lapse.  Now that Mrs. C is here in Tulsa, it's been more conducive to being able to balance keeping up a house, yard, all the day-to-day stuff that needs to be done and still finding time to ride. 

Other problem I've had is I will set a target weight goal, get there, maintain it, then when winter comes around, totally blowing it going back to my old ways of eating (and beer drinking ) and not working out as much. I really hate to work out indoors.  I'm going to try to commute to work more on the bike next winter so long as there's no precip on the road and it's not sub-freezing temps.  That will still get me 25 miles per day if I extend my route through River Parks.

Something Mrs. C and I did hone in on was how much more rapid weight loss seems to be when you don't eat prepared foods with preservatives and other additives.  I suspect many food additives are responsible for the weight issue as well as other allergies.  There's been a fair amount of research on MSG and how it promotes weight gain.

[RecycleMichael]

I tried to go on a two week diet, but ate the whole thing in three days.

[Hoss]

Have you tried dropping carb intake or investigating a paleo-type diet?  The term "diet" implies a temporary condition to most people, but when I say it I mean more of a lifestyle change.  I've heard great results from people with a similar condition to yours.  Only thing you may not like about it is that the "pure" paleo is gluten-free which may limit your choices on beer.  I'm reading and hearing more and more about gluten's contribution to our obesity problem in the United States.  It's worth Googling anyhow if you haven't already.

I have had to fight my weight since about the time I turned 21, that's one of the reasons I try to ride a bike as much as I do now.  Only problem is, once I got into cycling, I started getting more competitive about it and setting event or race goals.  I'd train like hell for an event or several events, then once I was done with the last one, I really didn't feel like even looking at a bike and realized I'd allowed many other things which needed my attention to lapse.  Now that Mrs. C is here in Tulsa, it's been more conducive to being able to balance keeping up a house, yard, all the day-to-day stuff that needs to be done and still finding time to ride. 

Other problem I've had is I will set a target weight goal, get there, maintain it, then when winter comes around, totally blowing it going back to my old ways of eating (and beer drinking ) and not working out as much. I really hate to work out indoors.  I'm going to try to commute to work more on the bike next winter so long as there's no precip on the road and it's not sub-freezing temps.  That will still get me 25 miles per day if I extend my route through River Parks.

Something Mrs. C and I did hone in on was how much more rapid weight loss seems to be when you don't eat prepared foods with preservatives and other additives.  I suspect many food additives are responsible for the weight issue as well as other allergies.  There's been a fair amount of research on MSG and how it promotes weight gain.

My carb intake is pretty low...well, I eat foods with a lot of fiber in them too, so the carb intake is there, it's just fiber is like reverse carbs, so the sugar spike isn't there.  Since I had my scare in 2000 with Type 2 and the doc told me to do two things - stop drinking a ton of soft drinks in a day or at least switch to diet (I did and have actually started weaning myself off all soda), my glycemic index is way down.  But I have a tendency to over do things.  So I went in to the doctor once and he did my fasting glucose test and it came back as 55.  He said stop it.  LOL.

I'm very conscious of what I put in my body (sticking with whole grain breads) except on our TNF lunches.   

But with a two week vacation coming up and a lot of yard work for me to do, I'll likely lose 5 lbs over that.

[Conan71]

That works for most people, but not everyone. Part of the problem is that fat breeds fat. Recent studies have shown that (in other mammals, anyway) fat cells release hormones that induce the body to store more calories as fat rather than burning them. Granted, building muscle does increase resting energy consumption, but it's not quite as easy as eat less, move more. It is a great first step, but less helpful than you would think for folks who are already obese.

That's true.  For some people, it's not necessarily the quantity of food, but what they are eating which can be the problem.  And there again, there are some people who can work out very hard every day, watch everything they eat, and still never seem to lose a pound.

My daughter's Godmother struggled with her weight all her life.  A couple of years ago, she started buying all her meals from My Fit Foods in Houston and hired a personal trainer.  She sticks to the regimen and she's probably 60-80 pounds lighter (I'm no idiot I know better than to ask a woman about weight specifics) than before she changed her lifestyle.  Actually, in her case, she did run and go to the gym and try to watch what she ate, but whatever she was doing simply didn't work until she went with all natural foods and got someone to help her manage her exercise routine to make it beneficial to weight loss.  Something in that combo clicked and when we saw her at my daughter's graduation in May, she's still keeping it off.

Point is, there is something which makes every overweight person overweight.  It's figuring out what the antidote is that can be really tough for the percentage that "eat less exercise more" doesn't work for.

[MrsConan]

I was watching the news this morning as they were discussing the new drug.  I get a nervous twitch when I hear a doctor say "we think it does this to the brain" or "we think it blocks the signals from the stomach and intestine" but "we've been testing it for two whole years".....  Yipe!  It does stand to reason though, that if surgery makes your stomach smaller so you eat less, and the drug makes you feel full so you eat less, then eating less has to be a part of it, right?  I think they should say "eating better", as that is more accurate.  Yes, those fried foods taste wonderful, and I'll be the first to admit I adore corndogs at the fair.  But I don't eat them.  Why?  Aside from the crap already in the hot dog part, I am acutely aware of that heavy, laden feeling in my stomach right afterward.  Yuck!  I also tend to read labels, and if I can't pronounce it or don't know what the acronym stands for, I'm not eating it.  Bottom line though, eating better and working out makes the engine run smoother and more efficient.  In other words, a GOOD vicious cycle.  You just have to decide and set your mind to what you want and figure out how best to get there.  There's a lot of help available out there, so don't be afraid to ask.  And don't give one rat's behind what other people think.  When I see you out there on Rivertrails, I'm not thinking about what you look like.  I'm smiling and waving at you to inspire you not to give up, willing you the strength to stick with whatever goals you have set for yourself.  I wish there were a magic pill to make it easier, but I don't think this one is it.