Weight loss with yucky side effects

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_6154988

Weight loss with yucky side effects
Diet drug Alli debuts with digestive concerns
BY SUSAN ABRAM, Staff Writer
LA Daily News
06/15/2007

BURBANK - It can be your friend or your foe.

In the war against weight loss, a new, federally approved, over-the-counter diet pill is being touted as the latest weapon against fat.

Alli (pronounced "ally") made its debut Friday in most drug stores, where the $60-a-package product was disappearing from specially designed display cases.

GlaxoSmithKline, the drug's maker, is providing extensive information at myalli.com to alert users that the drug is no magic bullet but is effective with proper diet and exercise.

Made to act as a fat blocker, Alli is half the dosage of its predecessor known as Xenical, but does come with caution: its side effects aren't exactly proper dinner table conversation.

"Loose stools ...," a Burbank CVS customer mumbled as she sat cross-legged in front of a display case to read the instructions. "I don't think I like that."

Alli works on enzymes that break down fat. The drug makes sure that undigested fat cannot be absorbed but passes through the body naturally. However, eating meals with too much fat can cause aggressive, unstoppable bowel movements, among other intestinal discomforts.

"The side effects are nasty," said Dr. Jack Der-Sarkissian, a local family physician and regional leader of adult weight management for Kaiser Permanente. "It hasn't been popular as a prescription drug because of the side effects."

Der-Sarkissian said those effects could work as a harsh reminder and deterrent to eating fatty foods. He called the pill a tool that can be used in conjunction with persistent diet and exercise. And research has shown it does work and is the least harmful.

But Der-Sarkissian said he is concerned that consumers won't read the instructions carefully.

"People are putting a lot of expectations on it," he said. "But my fear is that my patients won't read all of that literature. If they follow everything, and do it under their doctor's observation, it could play a role in weight loss."

And some are calling the FDA's approval an important, historical moment in the treatment of obesity.

"Alli is by far the safest weight-loss medication ever studied," said Dr. Gary Foster, director for the Center of Obesity Research and Education at Temple University in Philadelphia. "It doesn't act on the brain, heart or liver. It's a very safe medication."

It also might encourage users to change behaviors, because of the side effects.

"You'll make it your business to learn what's in a Caesar salad," Foster said. "It will get people interested in how food is prepared at restaurants to ask questions. In that way, it's a medication that in a positive way can change behavior."

At Miami Fitness in Burbank, gym members pooh-poohed the notion that any diet pill could work.

"You'll need diapers with this one," said Barbara Merlin, 60, of Burbank. "I'm not really interested in it because it messes with your digestive system. Just watch the carbs and sugar. That's it."

As Gary Lewin, 51, lifted weights, he called the use of diet pills pure laziness.

"I admit, staying on a diet is difficult sometimes, but if you just eat right, it's easy to moderate your weight," he said in between curls. "Our society wants the middle class to work all the time. But you need to make time to go to the gym."

susan.abram@dailynews.com
(818) 713-3664