General

The recently FDA approved weight loss pill alli is now available as an OTC drug. Alli targets millions of overweight and obese people who fail to lose weight in spite of dieting. The rates of obesity in America are reaching an epidemic proportion: 30% of all Americans and 40% of all Americans over the age of 50 are clinically obese. Add to this the borderline obese and overweight people and you'll get the overwhelming majority of people living in this country. Yes, 60% of the population, over 200 million people have now a direct access to this new weight loss pill. Let's examine what may happen to this country if the majority of people will start taking alli to lose weight.

Alli is actually a new version of an anti-obesity prescription drug. It works by inhibiting the absorption of fat via inhibition of fat metabolizing enzymes. According to its manufacturer, "the fat passes out of your body..." Nonetheless, together with the loose fat there are also loose stools that apparently pass out of the body...and you may not be able to control these undesirable "passes". Alli manufacturers call this "a treatment effect". Their actual suggestions:

Wear dark pants...and also bring a change of clothes with you to work. They also kindly suggest that if you get gassy – the bathroom is really the best place to go...oh really... Finally, they recommend you to get a food journal in order to recognize what food requires "black pants" and what doesn't. This isn't a joke, if you suddenly realize that the majority of people around you wear dark pants – Run away! Get a gas mask! Get on a boat! Get on a plane! Seriously, if the majority of people will be sitting or standing in the bathroom for most of the day - what would happen to our economy? What would happen to our country? Are we ready to trade our kingdom for a pill? And if we are ready, does it work?

Does alli work?

Alli's premise is to inhibit fat absorption and thus prevent fat gain, but this premise may be based on wrong assumptions. The notion that fat makes you fat is misleading and practically wrong. Yes, there are bad fats that should be avoided, but regardless, fat isn't the main culprit for the current epidemic of obesity. There is growing evidence that other factors of modern men's diet, particularly the high increase in the glycemic index of the diet with a higher intake of refined and processed food are the major contributors to modern men's disease and disorders including obesity, diabetes and cancer. Inhibiting fat absorption may actually accelerate the problem by increasing the overall metabolic stress on the body. Fat is a natural carrier of fat soluble vitamins. It is also the building block for sex hormones and stress hormones, certain fats are essential to the body and the majority of people today are already deficient in essential fatty acids.

Alli is just another commercial gimmicky product that addresses a desperate need for a quick fix solution. There is no shortcut to weight loss. There is no miracle pill that really works. Any attempt to shortcut a natural metabolic process in the body may short-circuit your health.