Optimum Nutrition magazine Winter 2018 PREVIEW

FEATURE
A drug to aid weight-loss
could be the answer to many
prayers; both individual and
corporate. But could relying
on a pill have unpleasant
consequences short- and
long-term? Ellie Smith writes
M
any of us will have fantasised
about a magic pill to help shed
a few pounds at some point in
our lives. So it comes as no surprise that
reports claiming scientists have discovered
the ‘holy-grail’ of weight-loss medicine
caused a big stir. In a study published in the
New England Journal of Medicine, appetite
suppressant lorcaserin has been deemed
a safe and effective weight-loss tool —
three times more effective than dieting,
according to researchers. 1
Populations around the world are
struggling with their weight. In the UK
alone, obesity rates are worryingly high
with almost one in three adults now obese
and another 36 per cent overweight. As a
result, obesity-related hospital admissions
have doubled in the past four years, putting
a huge financial strain on the NHS. The
need for change has never been more
pressing — but are over-the-counter pills
really the answer?
“Everyone is looking for this magic bullet
for weight-loss but unfortunately there isn’t
one,” says registered nutritional therapist
Catherine Jeans. “Fundamentally we have
to address the underlying issues and look
at dietary and lifestyle modifications.”
Weight-loss pills are not a new concept.
Since the 1960s a number of ‘breakthrough’
drugs have appeared on the market, only
to be recalled after being found to increase
the risk of cardiovascular disease. Crucially,
scientists have concluded those using
lorcaserin, however, will not be faced with
a similar risk.
Yet experts and health professionals
have questioned a number of aspects of
the trial — including Jeans. Firstly, she
highlights that the amount of weight lost
was underwhelming. More than 12,000
overweight or obese participants were
given either a dose of lorcaserin or a
placebo, and over a period of 40 months
those given lorcaserin shed an average of
4.2 kg of weight compared to 1.4 kg in the
placebo group. As Jeans points out, this is
actually a fairly small amount considering
participants were monitored for over three
years — also by the end of the study,
most people taking the drug were still in
the overweight or obese category. And
although there was a difference between
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