There are plenty of bogus diet pills on the market, but the Food and Drug Administration says it has found one that may actually work. An FDA advisory panel has recommended approval of an over-the-counter drug that reportedly helps the body block fat absorption.
The panel voted 11-3 to allow the sale of the drug orlistate without a doctor's prescription. A prescription form of the drug is already on the market, sold under the brand name Xenical.
If the FDA accepts the panel's recommendation, a 60-milligram version could be on the market by summer. It's a product of pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, which plans to call the product Alli.
With roughly two thirds of Americans overweight, the market for a government-approved over the counter diet pill could be huge. However, even the drug company says consumers using the product should not depend on it alone to lose weight, but incorporate a healthy dose of diet and exercise into a weight loss plan.
Consumers also should not expect spectacular results. In six-month clinical trials, the overweight subjects who took the drug lost on average only 5.3 pounds to 6.2 pounds more than did those who were given dummy pills.
GlaxoSmithKline recommends the drug only be used in six-month intervals, but critics point out that, as an over-the-counter drug, people would be free to take as much of the drug as they want, as often as they want.
