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Information About Diet Pills for Teenagers, Adolescents and Children

Dec 2003 - The US government has approved Xenical - a prescription diet pill - as a weight loss drug for teenagers/adolescents, and two other weight loss pills are under study.

Xenical Diet Pills for Teenagers/Adolescents - Now Legal

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the label for the diet pill Xenical can include results of two clinical trials involving children aged 12 to 16. Some doctors have been legally prescribing Xenical "off label" for kids, and the new label could make the practice more common.

How Do Xenical Diet Pills Help Obese Teenagers

Xenical is a lipase-inhibitor. It works in the gut and prevents about one-third of the dietary-fat which patients eat from being digested. The undigested fat cannot be absorbed and is eliminated in bowel movements. Side effects include diarrhea, flatulence and oily leakage.

Low Fat Diet to Accompany Use of Xenical Diet Pills

Teenage-patients can reduce the side effects of Xenical by reducing their fat intake. "I think it's useful for retraining people to eat a low-fat diet," said Dr. Chris Stahl of the Adolescent Weight Loss Clinic at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Stahl has prescribed Xenical diet pills to about 10 teenagers, but only one has stuck to it. "The side effects are extremely unpopular with teens," she said.

Xenical Benefits for Teenagers

If teenagers use Xenical sensibly, it will assist weight loss by reducing fat-calories. Except that, if a child already is exercising and eating a healthy diet, Xenical has "minimal additive benefit," Stahl said. Also, Xenical won't help teens who eat too much sugar.

Meridia Appetite Suppressants for Teenagers

Another prescription drug being studied for teens/adolescents is the appetite suppressant Meridia. In a recent study of 82 adolescents enrolled in a behavioral weight loss program, kids who took Meridia lost an average of 17 pounds after six months. By comparison, kids who took a placebo lost an average of seven pounds. The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Side Effects of Meridia for Teenagers

Meridia's side effects on teenage-patients are likely to include: headache, dry mouth, anorexia, constipation and insomnia.

Glucophage Diets Pills for Teens - Study Planned

Another diet pill study is being planned to determine whether the diabetes drug Glucophage can reduce insulin intolerance and reduce weight in overweight children aged 6 to 11.

In extreme cases, surgeons are doing stomach reduction operations on teens. By some estimates, as many as 150 teens have undergone the most common technique, gastric bypass surgery, and the number is believed to be growing.

The childhood obesity epidemic has hit Chicago especially hard. Among kids aged 3 to 7 in Chicago public schools, 23 percent are overweight and 15 percent are at risk of becoming fat. By comparison, 10.4 percent of kids nationwide aged 2 to 5 are overweight, according to the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children, based at Children's Memorial Hospital.

Information About Anorectic Diet Pills for Children

It's worth noting that there is still very little hard information regarding the use of anorectic diet pills (weight loss drugs) in children. In general, anorectic diet drugs are not routinely used for the prevention or treatment of obesity in childhood or adolescence. Doctors are unlikely to administer weight loss anorectic drugs to prepubertal children until carefully controlled clinical studies are performed to assess their safety and efficacy. Only in certain cases will doctors administer anorectic diet drugs after the patient has failed to respond to vigorous attempts to modify behavior, diet, and family interactions.

Unless prohibited by a specific investigational protocol, all adolescents who are administered anorectic agents to lose weight should receive concurrent nutritional and family counseling and should implement a plan of regular exercise and physical activity.

Source:
Includes material from Chicago Sun Times, Dec 2003