by Julie Kim
Staff Writer
The over-the-counter diet pill industry is rapidly growing, thanks to a society where bigger usually means better – except when it comes to weight.
With its easy accessibility and miraculous claims of burning fat, reducing cravings and giving boosts of energy – all in a matter of months – it is obvious why more people are turning to weight-loss products to melt the pounds away.
But are they really miracles in a bottle? Most clinical studies show otherwise.
“I would never recommend them,” said James May, head athletic trainer at the University of La Verne.
Non-prescription diet pills such as ephedrine, guarana and chromium picolinate have shown to not only be ineffective, but most likely dangerous to the body.
Cindy Denne, the University director of student health services and services for students with disabilities, agreed: “Diet pills don’t really work and the long-term effects are not good.”
Ephedrine, one of the most popular weight-loss ingredients, theoretically works in multiple ways: suppressing appetites, increasing metabolic rates and boosting energy levels since activity burns off calories.
Sold under other listings like herbal ecstasy, ephedra or ma huang, ephedrine-based products are either man-made or created using the Asian herb Ephedraceae.
But in a 1995 report in the medical journal Obesity Research, published by The North American Association for the Study of Obesity, Danish researchers found that patients who took ephedrine and were on strict diets for six months lost just 7.5 pounds more than those who simply dieted.
Not only do many critics claim ephedrine doesn’t work, they say it is legalized speed.
The Mayo Clinic agrees: “Chemically, there’s only a slight difference between methamphetamine and ephedrine.”
In addition, case studies have shown that ephedrine can raise blood pressure, heart rates and also cause seizures, heat strokes and heart attacks.
“Almost all diet pills are stimulators that affect the central nervous system,” May said. “And at times, you will regain the weight you lost.”
In fact, prospective Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler died just 24 hours after taking three ephedrine tablets.
“Perhaps if he had not used ephedra, this tragic event would not have happened,” according to a statement by coroner Joshua Perper.
With Bechler’s untimely death serving as a catalyst, the FDA banned ephedrine, which will go into effect April 12.
Guarana, another weight-loss substance, claims to work by burning fat and boosting metabolism. With caffeine as its active ingredient, 200 milligrams of guarana is the approximate equivalent to two cups of black coffee.
It usually isn’t dangerous – or valuable for weight loss – when taken by itself, but guarana is almost always paired with other substances – most notably ephedrine. The combination can lead to a stroke or even death.
In addition, chromium picolinate also dominates the industry.
A synthetic version of chromium, which is a natural substance found to build muscle and control sugar levels, it claims to help people lose extra pounds.
However, Richard Anderson, lead scientist at the United States Department of Agriculture’s Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, has never seen changes in body weight over a 20-year study of chromium supplements.
According to the medical journal Nutrition Reviews, “chromium is only a small part of the puzzle in weight loss and body composition, and its effects, if present, will be small compared with those of exercise and a well-balanced diet.”
May noted that “it takes more than two months of hard work” to see any changes if you are 50 pounds to 100 pounds overweight.
In addition to being ineffective, adding extra chromium to your diet may lead to kidney failure.
Since the Food and Drug Administration does not regulate the majority of over-the-counter aids, the general public thinks they must be safe to use.
“People can walk into any store and bypass all the safeguards provided by doctors and nutritionists,” said Paul Alvarez, professor of movement and science at the University.
The FDA reported at least 38 deaths and over 1,000 serious reactions to diet pills.
But “any medicine or supplement can be abused because many individuals think if little equals good, more will be better,” Alvarez said. “People will do anything to look good.”
Denne said she had several students with eating disorders come to the Student Health Center for help. ULV has access to the dietary staff at the Pomona Valley Hospital and one from Sodexho, who provides food to ULV residence halls, she said.
Ultimately, diet pills and losing weight is part of “a global culture that says being unpopular is worse than death,” Alvarez said. “But exercising and eating properly is how you lose weight, not a quick fix.”
Further information on the risk of losing weight with the help of diet pills can be found online at http://www.diet-pills-information.com/diet_pill_dangers.htm.
