FACED with calorie counting, gym sessions and fad diets, it is no wonder women are seduced by quick-fix diet pills sold online.
The manufacturers claim the drugs will burn fat and halt hunger pangs but experts say they are addictive and harmful.
Because they are classed as supplements, the pills don’t have to conform to regulations governing medicines.
But research has linked their use to long-term problems such as heart disease, raised blood pressure and even death.
Palpitations, insomnia and anxiety also feature in a long list of dangerous side-effects.
In the UK doctors refuse to prescribe diet drugs. Instead the NHS advice for effective weight loss is a balanced diet combined with regular exercise.
But despite the dangers, women desperate to lose weight are buying the drugs online.
Singer Caroline Duffy, 28, had a lucky escape when diet pills made her body shut down.
When she was 18 she failed an audition to join a girl group — then overheard an interviewer say it was because she was overweight.
Caroline, of Jarrow, Tyne and Wear, says: “Over the next five years I tried numerous diets but none of them gave me the results I craved.
Handbag
“Then, at 23, I read a magazine article about Britney Spears. It said a pot of Zantrex-3 diet pills had fallen out of her handbag as she walked through Heathrow airport.
“I dropped the magazine and rushed to my computer. The official site selling the drugs promised rapid, sustained weight loss and extreme energy, with 546 per cent more weight loss than other leading brands.
“Perfect — weight loss with no dieting or exercise. One batch of 120 tablets cost £60. I immediately typed in my bank details and bought one packet.
“I decided not to tell my family and friends about the pills. I’d wait until the weight dropped off.
“When they arrived I read the instructions carefully and took four of the large blue tablets a day. Within a week, I noticed they were working. My appetite had shrunk. I went from devouring breakfast and two hearty meals to one slice of toast a day. Soon I wasn’t hungry at all and didn’t need the toast.
“I was full of energy, but felt a bit hyper. My energy levels would be sky-high after taking the pills, but plummet hours later.
“My hands were shaky and I suffered severe heart palpitations every day.
“I was worried, but I expected some side-effects. The results would be worth it.
“But the weight wasn’t exactly falling off. I fluctuated between a normal size 12 and a slightly slimmer ten — not the dramatic loss I’d expected.”
Then one day at work, two weeks after she started taking the pills, Caroline suffered a health crisis.
She says: “I started to burn up. I looked at my arms and saw I was covered in bright red blotches and my whole body was on fire. But my hands and feet were icy cold.
Dizzy
“Within minutes I was rushed to hospital. My heart was pounding furiously and I felt dizzy and nauseous.
“The consultant explained the drugs had stopped me eating — but also drastically starved my body of fuel.
“It was shutting down to survive. All the blood was being pumped to my vital organs and away from my hands and feet.
“The doctor said, ‘If you had left it a few more days we’d have had to amputate your hands and feet. You could have died.’
“Going into hospital was the wake-up call I needed. I confessed to my parents about my brush with death and went to the doctor for help. Then I started following a healthy eating plan.
“It took time, but five years on, my appetite has returned and I have a healthy, rounded diet.
“My dreams came true without diet pills. Now I’m a singer in a girl band, Stiletto, and looking to the future.
“I eat healthily but I learnt the hard way. Diet pills aren’t the answer to slimming. They are dangerous and don’t work.”
Dr Carol Cooper :
THERE’S no quick fix when it comes to weight loss. Diet pills disappoint as they can’t give the lasting results you would get from healthy eating and taking more exercise.
Besides, an estimated 40 per cent of pills bought online are fakes and many are said to be contaminated with other substances. So you would definitely be wasting your money and risking side-effects you hadn’t bargained for.
Then there are the dangers. Often they are loaded with stimulants such as caffeine, which can cause severe reactions when taken in large doses. Or there may be ingredients that cause allergies.
Even prescription drugs for weight loss can be risky. In October, rimonabant (Acomplia) was suspended across the EU. Though it works, the dangers outweigh the benefits.
Monday, November 24, 2008 The Sun
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