Type of diet pills - Prescription diet pills and Over-the-counter diet pills

There are basically 2 types of diet pills:

prescription diet pills and over-the-counter diet pills

Prescription diet pills are usually prescribed for seriously obese individuals, while over the counter diet pills are typically considered as weight loss supplements.If you are seriously thinking about using diet pills as a way to help you lose some extra pounds, you should first do some research on what your available options are, so that you can make a responsible and well-informed decision.

There is a wide range of weight loss pills available in the market these days. Thus, choosing one that is best for you can be a bit daunting and overwhelming, especially if you are fairly new to this type of drug. Finding out and understanding the proper facts and arming yourself with the right information about diet pills will definitely help make your task a whole lot easier.There are generally two types of diet pills that you will find in the market these days: prescription diet pills and non-prescription or over-the-counter diet pills.

Prescription diet pills

Prescription diet pills are regulated medicines that have undergone extensive research and testing and require a prescription from a doctor or a health professional. They are prescribed for weight loss under certain conditions and in specified dosages. This type of pill has been particularly designed, manufactured and prescribed for those who are suffering from obesity, identified as those who have a Body Mass Index of more than 35.

Examples of different types of prescription diet pills available in the market are Meridia, Xenical, Tenuate Dospan, Bontril, Plegine, Adipost, Prelu-2, X-Trozine, Phentermine, Zantryl, Adipex-P, Fastin, Ionamin, Obytrim, and Pro-Fast.

Non prescription diet pills

Non-prescription or over-the-counter diet pills, on the other hand, are normally classified as weight loss supplements. They are not drugs and are not made up of chemicals, but are actually a concoction of one or more natural derivatives found in plants and herbs. As such, you do not have to worry about matters such as tolerance and addiction to these supplements. This type of diet pills can be bought without a doctor’s prescription and are manufactured in lower dosages.

They are generally suited for people who are not yet seriously obese but would still like to shed of a few pounds. Examples of non-prescription or over-the-counter diet supplements include Ephedra diet pills, slimming and herbal teas, Hoodia, Proactol, ProShapeRX, and Dietrine.

Prescription Diet Pills - Supersized problems

The government’s medicines advisory agency this month recommended a new medicine that provides fresh hope in the fight against obesity.

Rimonabant, known by the brand name Acomplia, joins orlistat (Xenical) and sibutramine (Reductil) in the range of weight loss drugs available from doctors on prescription.

But Nicholas Finer, consultant in obesity medicine at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, cautions that while all these drugs have some effect, their ability to sustain weight loss is modest.
The bad news is that most other options are even less effective. For the growing number of obese people Finer sees in his clinic, he estimates that diet and lifestyle changes such as increased exercise achieve, at best, a 4 per cent reduction in weight over two years. He says that the most effective interventions are surgical, using gastric bands or bypasses. Such techniques can reduce weight by 30 per cent on average, and significantly cut the risk of cancer and other diseases.

He dismisses almost everything else as “snake oil”, its effectiveness not proved by clinical trials, including over the counter diet pills and supplements such as hoodia.

Orlistat, which in lower doses is available in the US over the counter and could in future be available in the UK, works in the stomach by preventing the body digesting some of the fat in food. The problem is that it can cause diarrhoea.

Sibutramine acts in the brain to enhance the effect of neurotransmitters that allow people to feel full more quickly and for longer. It can be associated with a dry mouth and constipation. Rimonabant blocks cannabinoid receptors in the brain, which help regulate food intake. Some patients have reported suicidal thoughts after taking it, so the drug is not recommended for patients suffering from depression.

Overall, the most disturbing aspect of the obesity epidemic is that it appears to be a one-way street: modern lifestyles and diets easily allow people to gain weight, but few are able to shed it in the long term.