Study Raises Questions About Weight-Loss Drugs

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The ultimate question, Padwal said, is whether the modest weight loss associated with these drugs is really a benefit for overall health. People who exercise may only lose a little weight but they can significantly reduce their risk of heart attack and stroke and diabetes, he noted.

"Until you have a study that shows that these medications lower the incidence of heart attack, the incidence of stroke, cardiovascular mortality, overall mortality, you don't know what the overall net benefit of these medications are," Padwal said.

One expert doesn't think drugs are the solution to the obesity epidemic gripping the United States and many other developed nations.

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"To date, the history of weight-loss drugs is not very encouraging," said Dr. David L. Katz, an associate professor of public health and director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine. "The two FDA-approved weight-loss drugs now available, sibutramine and orlistat, have serious potential side effects, limited efficacy, and work only as long as they are taken."

Rimonabant, a new drug soon to be available, blocks a receptor influencing appetite, and looks promising. But studies suggest its effects may wear off over time, and side effects are unknown, Katz said.

"Obesity is less about the body doing anything wrong than it is about an environment that is all wrong for our bodies," he said. "We are adapted to survive in a world where calories are scarce and physical activity demands high. To use pharmacotherapy to fight obesity, we are, in essence, hoping to redirect the fundamental activities of human metabolism. I don't think we'll ever succeed in doing so, without dire cost in toxicity and side effects."

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases can tell you more about weight loss.

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