theGIST Issue 12

Science in the Spotlight
Many anorectic drugs work via
what is known as a serotonergic effect:
they work to inhibit the reuptake
of the neurotransmitter
serotonin, leading to increased
serotonin levels in the brain. Serotonin
has been associated with an
increased feeling of satiation; the
higher the amount of this neurotransmitter
in your system, the
longer you feel full on a smaller
portion of food. This isn't its only
effect however. Higher levels are
also linked with feelings of happiness
and calm, which is why antidepressants
called selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SS-
RIs) work to achieve the same result.
Many people will not think to
mention over-the-counter supplements
or diet products to their doctor
as they don't think of them as
medicine. This unintentional withholding
of information can lead
doctors to prescribe a higher
dosage of SSRIs than is safe and
may potentially increase a patient's
risk of serotonin syndrome, a set of
worrying symptoms linked to an
overproduction of serotonin. While
rarely observed, in some extreme
cases it can be fatal.
These are just the occasions
where anorectic drugs interact with
other drugs or existing conditions. It
doesn't touch on the many potential
side effects that can occur based
purely on anorectic drugs taken by
a healthy individual, which include
pulmonary hypertension, vision loss
and increased risk of stroke. Most
people don't expect these to be the
risks when purchasing a publicly
advertised product. Some progress
has been made, albeit very slowly.
The Advertising Standards Authority
(ASA) recently banned promotional
posts made by reality stars Lauren
Goodger and Katie Price, stating
that photoshopping their body
shape in images whilst promoting
weight loss products was irresponsible
and misleading. It's a
positive step forward to see the
harmful and disingenuous effects
of photoshopping being formally
addressed. However, the product
being promoted by Goodger and
Price contained the active ingredient
glucomannan. This has been
found to have no real effect on
weight loss and has been linked to
pulmonary hypertension. In fact, it
is specifically not recommended for
diabetics as it may interfere with
blood sugar control. Interestingly
enough, even though neither of the
banned promotions had thought to
mention that, that wasn't a factor in
their ban.
Unfortunately, regulation of social
media promotions seems limited.
The ASA will crack down on promotions
making unfounded health
claims (such as saying a product
will promote weight loss when there
is no research to demonstrate that)
and they insist that if an influencer
is being paid for a promotion, this
must be disclosed. However, the
only disclosure required is the inclusion
of a small “#ad” at the end
of each post. With no official regulation
addressing the issue, it is
common for promotions to be posted
without warnings of potential
side effects.
Perhaps this is where real change
needs to begin: with stricter regulations
of social media advertising. If
diet supplement advertisements
on social media were required to
state the side effects clearly, it
might not only make the followers
think twice about buying it,
but also make influencers reconsider
their promotions; because
after all, if readers aren't getting
the whole story from brands,
who's to say the influencers are?
Further, if the sponsored nature
of influencer posts had to be declared
clearly at the start of the
post, rather than via a two letter
hashtag nestled in amongst
multiple others, it would prevent
people from assuming these are
personal recommendations that
can be blindly and wholly
trusted.
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