Can weight-loss pills save your life?
Reducing the Risk of Obesity: Defining the Role of Weight Loss Drugs
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Lots of people are overweight, and it costs the healthcare system a lot. Diet and exercise help but most people can't stick with them. Old weight-loss pills were risky. New ones help a little with losing weight and improving health markers, but no one has proven they make people live longer. We also don't know if they're safe over many years. Surgery is an option for very heavy people who haven't succeeded with other methods.
Surprising Findings
None of the current weight-loss drugs have been shown to reduce mortality.
Most people assume that if a drug helps you lose weight and improves blood sugar or cholesterol, it must also reduce heart attacks or death — but the study says no proof exists.
Practical Takeaways
If you're considering a weight-loss drug, ask your doctor: 'Has this been proven to help people live longer, and what do we know about its safety after 5+ years?'
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Lots of people are overweight, and it costs the healthcare system a lot. Diet and exercise help but most people can't stick with them. Old weight-loss pills were risky. New ones help a little with losing weight and improving health markers, but no one has proven they make people live longer. We also don't know if they're safe over many years. Surgery is an option for very heavy people who haven't succeeded with other methods.
Surprising Findings
None of the current weight-loss drugs have been shown to reduce mortality.
Most people assume that if a drug helps you lose weight and improves blood sugar or cholesterol, it must also reduce heart attacks or death — but the study says no proof exists.
Practical Takeaways
If you're considering a weight-loss drug, ask your doctor: 'Has this been proven to help people live longer, and what do we know about its safety after 5+ years?'
Publication
Journal
Pharmacotherapy: The Journal of Human Pharmacology and Drug Therapy
Year
2013
Authors
Hua Ling, Thomas L. Lenz, T. Burns, D. Hilleman
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Claims (6)
When people take medicine to lose weight, their body inflammation goes down and their metabolism gets better, which helps lower their chance of heart problems.
Being overweight or obese puts as much strain on the healthcare system as smoking does, which means it’s a really big problem for public health.
The best way to treat obesity is by eating better and moving more, but most people can’t stick with these changes for long, so they don’t work well over time.
The older weight loss pills people used to take don’t do more good than harm, and none of them have been proven to help people live longer.
We don’t really know if these weight loss pills are safe to take for years and years—scientists haven’t figured it out yet.