A new study is suggesting that the diet drug Orlistat, more popularly known under its prescription name Xenical, doesn’t help people improve their eating habits. But it’s even being suggested that it has the opposite effect.
When Xenical works, it blocks the absorption of fat in the intestines. Users are advised to reduce their dietary fat intake, consuming no more than 30 percent of their calories from fat each day.
This is what The Diet Blog has to say:
A new study suggests the popular diet drug Orlistat… doesn’t inspire people to improve their diets, instead individuals popping Xenical are more likely to eat worse. How’s that for irony.
Forty-four obese adults were studied. The average daily calories from fat among Xenical users was 33 percent (not the suggested 30 percent), and for the placebo group it was 28 percent. Participants were tracked over three years.
Now, I’m not one to favor weight loss supplements, so I’m not a big pharma apologist. But I don’t see from what’s shown here how it can be deduced that Xenical makes people eat worse than they would otherwise. If it’s the meager percentage difference in the study, 44 people is hardly convincing. Plus, it doesn’t prove that the users would have more or less fat intake without the drug. Only that they aren’t following instructions. Am I missing something?