Belviq (Lorcaserin) is the first FDA approved weight loss drug in 13 years. If these are the best diet pills they can find, don’t bother. Here is why.
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Belviq-Lorcaserin Approval Details
The nitty gritty on Belviq, which is the new trade name for Lorcaserin (ADP-356), is that it was first rejected by the FDA on September 16, 2010, based on concerns over safety and efficacy. Then, after further studies by the manufacturer (Arena Pharmaceuticals), the FDA reversed its position and on June 27, 2012, approved its use, with certain restrictions. Those restrictions are that it be used only for the treatment of obesity in adults with a BMI (Body Mass Index) of at least 30, or in adults with a BMI of at least 27 and who, “…have at least one weight-related health condition, such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, or high cholesterol.”
Hmm. I suppose this means that doubts about the safety and efficacy of this drug are moot if you are big enough or in bad enough health.
How Does It Work?
Biochemists call lorcaserin a “selective 5-HT2C receptor agonist.” Translated, this means that it activates those parts of the brain (receptors) where a serotonin precursor (5-HT) works. Yup, it is another attempt by our friendly drug manufacturers to fool you into feeling full so you will stop eating sooner. The jargon is to “promote weight loss through satiety.”
It is too bad that this approach to designing a weight loss drug is doomed to fail, because it relies on the flawed ‘Calories In/Calories Out’ strategy. This is a simple-minded strategy that is clearly ineffective. The human body is not a furnace for burning calories. It is a complex set of metabolic processes that have to be taken into account for optimizing metabolism.
Clinical Results
The FDA accepts remarkably low standards for any new weight loss drug: at least 5 percent loss of body weight within 12 months. Overall results for lorcaserin show an average of 3 to 3.7 percent weight loss over a year. If you start out at 250 pounds, on average you can expect to lose 7.5 to 9.25 pounds. However, the saving grace for this drug in the eyes of the FDA is that 47 percent of patients without diabetes lost at least 5 percent of their body weight. It just squeaked in at the minimum standard … whoopee!
For comparison, modifying your diet by choosing the right foods and eating at the right times can provide weight loss of 2 pounds per week with very little effort. And if you add a little of the right kinds of exercise, you can accelerate it even more. Just think, eating right and exercising right outdo the only new weight loss drug that the FDA has approved in the past 13 years. Isn’t that interesting?
Oh, one other little observation to note about clinical results with lorcaserin: when patients stopped taking the drug, they gained their weight back. Gee, it looks like another ‘drug for life’ from Big Pharma. Once you get your first prescription, which should be available by early 2013, you have to keep taking it as long as you live.
Side Effects
So far the side effects have been minimized to include only a slight chance of depression, migraine, and memory lapses. Stay tuned.
Good luck with these diet pills,
Dr. D
My friend is like many sedentary adults who simply refuse to exercise. So for a time, she was on diet pills – not this particular one. In fact, I think the pills she was taking were nothing more than caffeine pills. But these pills also are doing more harm than good to those who refuse to give exercise a go. They don’t realize that new research along with a new movement in workout routines are proving that only 12 minutes a day are needed to get in great shape.
There’s a lot of talk about the FDA getting pressured by the US government to approve weight loss drugs since obesity is a widespread problem that increases healthcare costs for everyone. The bullish thesis for a 21% rise in OREX yesterday is that since Lorcaserin was approved it shows that the FDA is more lenient now in approving obesity drugs. Therefore, there’s a higher chance that other diet drugs such as Contrave will get approved in 2014.
Two years ago, while photographing some models, I couldn’t figure out what was going on with the models backstage. I was styling one of the models, who’s usually really sweet, but this year she was a raving bitch. Every time someone tried to touch her hair or apply her makeup, she would freak out. I finally asked the creative director what was going on with her, and he said, ‘Oh, she’s taking those Brazilian diet pills.
This Thursday, Dr. Oz and fellow guests will shed light on a new underground craze among mothers in our country. The show is titled, Mother’s Little Helper: The Dangerous Diet Craze Sweeping America. Dr. Oz will speak with women from across the nation as they explain their obsession with a new pill popping fad. These women will admit to feeling energy boosts, increased concentration, and some women will discuss how the pills have helped them lose weight.
I must have fifteen bottles of various pills that are for dieting. I am always searching for that one pill that will kill my appetite and make me skinny again! But some weight-loss industries thrive off of these insecurities by filling their ads with empty promises and false hope. We are brought up in a world that constantly emphasizes the importance of being physically attractive and the characteristics that define such beauty.
This story just goes to prove that just because the Food And Drug Administration approves a drug does not necessarily make it healthy for you. I prefer not to mess with newly approved drugs until they have a clinical history established. Often what happens is that a new drug that is introduced to the market winds up having long term side effects and law suits ensue.
The medication won marketing approval as a drug for “chronic weight management in adult patients” with a body mass index greater than 30, or with a weight-related condition such as high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol or Type 2 diabetes. Just over 1 in 3 adult Americans is considered obese, and an additional 36% are overweight. So why did this drug sell so much? My guess is it’s being misused by those who don’t need it.
Many of these celebrities use certain types of diet pills in order to lose a few extra pounds, and they are quick to point out that the Capsiplex supplement seems to be very popular right now, particularly in the UK. I bet they will not be claiming this for long as soon as those same celebrities hear the news that the hype is just that.
I am so glad that I ran across this article because I was seriously going to try some of these, now that I know it would be a waste of time and money it does my heart good to know I didn’t buy them. I think I will try some of the body builder advice and mix a cocktail of supplements to see what that might do, who knows it could cause weight lose.