The drug lorcaserin was disapproved Thursday by the FDA panel. Lorcaserin is an anti-obesity drug. It acts on the brain's serotin, a neurotransmitter involved in appetite, digestion, memory, mood, and other function. The FDA requires new diet drugs to help people lose at least five percent more of their body weight than a placebo. People on on lorcaserin lost about 3.3 percent more weight than those on placebo. The drug did however meet another FDA criteria that at least twice as many people taking the medication lose five percent or more of their weight. The company that makes this drug is still trying to get approval from the FDA panel. Another drug Qnexa, was disapproved and Contrave is still waiting for approval or disapproval. A lot of these anti-obesity drugs are being pulled off the shelves due to being linked to strokes and heart attacks.
I found this article to be very interesting due to the fact that obesity is a big problem in the world today. It is a good thing to know that companys are making drugs to combat obesity however there is still a lot of research to do to make these drugs effective and safe at the same time. I learned that it takes a panel in the FDA to determine whether a drug is safe enough to hit the market or not.
Aaron White
This is a very interesting article. Do you think it is okay for obese people to, as some might say, “take the easy way out” by taking this drug? More importantly, I would think that a drug like this might heighten unhealthy eating. If people think they can eat whatever they want and just take a pill to help them stay “not obese” they are still technically eating unhealthy, in turn making them unhealthy, are they not? What do you think? -Chris Wolfe
ReplyDeleteIt was very interesting reading what your article was about and their previous comment made by Mr. Wolfe. Obesity is a very big problem in the world today. It leads to lots of other health related issues including death. I do understand that these drugs can lead to heart attack and stroke but just like any other drug they all have side effects and that things that can go wrong while taking the drug. I do not think drugs like these need to be at our local Wal-Mart and GNC for people just to walk in and buy. These things and a lot of other diet pills need to be given to you by a doctor or at least be under the super vision of your doctor. I mean let the doctor know this is what you want to take and is it going to affect any other medication you are currently on. But using these drugs should be the last resort for people. As where I see Mr. Wolfe’s point by having a drug like this that means people can just eat what they want and be lazy and then just go take some pills to make it go away. Is something like this going to give people the idea that they don’t have to exercise anymore? Some people do struggle to get weight off and have tried all options by exercising and dieting so I do think these drugs are needed but not just to be put out on the market for just anyone to buy it. Benjamin Hartman
ReplyDeleteIn response to the first comment I do not think that it is taking an easy way out by taking a drug to lose weight. Losing weight is one of the hardest things to do and in my opinion if you can lose weight in any way that's healthy you should do it. I can see how some people would say taking a drug to lose weight is the easy way out but i don't agree with them. Eating healthy is a hard thing to do and if pills help u lose weight even when your not eating healthy it should be taken advantage of.
ReplyDeleteMatt Racer
In response to Mr. Wolfes comment i think that people are taking the drug not to just take the easy way out but maybe that they actually need the drug to help them. And I agree that people might think that they can still eat whatever they want and still take the pill and expect to lose weight I believe healthy eating is nescessary when taking the pill to be most effective.
ReplyDeleteAaron White
I thought that this article was very interesting because it focuses on one of the biggest problems we have in the world today. In response to the first comment I think because for so many people it's not easy to lose weight on thier own they think that taking diet pills is much healthier. Which in fact it isn't because most people think that they can take the pills and continue their same bad eating habits which doesn't really get them anywhere. Since their can be risk with taking the pills i think that also will make them unhealthy. -Danesha Walton
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Mr. Wolfe's question, I agree with you 100%!! I feel that if someone gets to the point to where they would need to take a pill to loose weight instead of get the incentive to get up and exercise or to just even eat healthier then they should have to suffer the consequences. Yes, some people do have health problems inside that causes them to be obese and for these people, I do feel that they should get some kind of help like this pill. But, I do not feel that just any obese person should be able to use these pills. I think that before giving this pill, the obese humans should have to take an eligibility test before receiving this medication. Eligibility test meaning, put them on a strict diet, force them to work out, and then see what the results are rather than just "taking the easy way out" and using a pill!
ReplyDelete-Shelbie Hall
I see many people have commented on my first comment. As many people have said if you have a legitimate health problem, I think that this could be a good "first step" to help one improve their health. I still stand by the fact that it could be considered the "easy way out" for the pure fact that if there is no prominent health issue causing this obesity, a pill cannot teach anything. If people continue with their unhealthy lifestyle, whether it be eating unhealthy or not exercising, this pill will just mask those areas of health they are neglecting. Although this pill may make you look better and feel better on the outside, what good is it really doing on the inside?
ReplyDelete-Chris Wolfe
In response to the questions and comments that have been raised here, I think that usually these drugs are used with an exercise regimen. People who are obese, for whatever reason, usually do not exercise because it is difficult for them to. A lot of obese people also have other health problems that make exercising even harder. I think the use of this pill would allow them to lose some of the weight, possibly even lessening their other health problems, and then they can use an exercise regimen to help lose the rest of the weight.
ReplyDeleteJoy Doughty