Diet Pills

Obesity has, over the past few decades, reached epidemic proportions in the United States of America. The numbers seem to have exploded over the past few decades.

The number of obese adults in America, between 20 and 74 years, was a staggering 67% in the year 2002. Obesity hasn’t spared American children either, with a surprising 16% falling in the obese category for the age group of 6 to 19 years in 2002. That being said, staying in shape has become one of the top items in the list of priorities of all Americans.

They are taking every help they can get – exercising, diets, even surgery – to cut the extra flab, get into decent shape, and stay healthy and disease-free. One option that has gained popularity in the recent past in the fight against obesity is the diet pill.

What are Diet Pills?

The term diet pill is a colloquial usage. Diet pills are anti-obesity drugs. Basically, diet pills are prescribed and taken to reduce the existing excess fat in the body, and also to prevent any more fat from accumulating in the body.

Right at the outset you must understand one thing – a diet pill is not a quick-fix, cosmetic remedy that will help you shed the slight extra flab you may have accumulated. So if you are thinking, ‘Hold on a minute now! A pill that helps cut the flab without even basic jogging and dieting?’ Well, don’t even think about popping any, because they are not meant to be used without prescription.

Most diet pills are prescription-based

While most diet pills are strictly prescription-based, i.e. they cannot be obtained without a doctor’s prescription; there are nowadays certain diet pills that are available over-the-counter (OTC).

While the prescription pills are ratified by the FDA, the OTC pills are not; they remain a grey area and can cause harmful side effects, though side effects can be seen even in some of the FDA ratified pills.

The difference is that if there are side effects, the FDA ratified pills will have them mentioned somewhere in the packing, while the OTC pills mostly will not have such warning notes on their labels.

There is nowadays available a third kind of diet pills – the herbal pills. These can usually be bought without a prescription, and are regarded by the FDA as food products, not drugs.

Weight Loss and Diet Pills >>