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Belviq: The FDA Approved Diet Drug With Tons of Side Effects
Belviq is the first prescription diet drug to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration in over 13 years. This diet pill controls appetites by stimulating the receptors of the brain towards secreting serotonin, a neurotransmitter that elicits feelings of satisfaction so that there is no willingness to eat food. The drug is manufactured by Arena Pharmaceuticals. Belviq was a weight loss drug created to help Americans wage war against obesity. Statistics show that 1 in every 3 Americans is overweight.
Users of the drug have said that the efficacy of the drug is in serious doubt. According to a clinical trial, only 47% of people who used the drug reported a loss of over 5% of their total body weight in a year. To put this in perspective, what this means is that a person who weighs 200 pounds will only lose 7 pounds in 365 days.
However, there is another school of thought, where users of the drug are told to complement it with a healthy diet and exercise regime. Furthermore, they are told to desist from usage if they fail to lose at least 5% of their body weight in 12 weeks. The argument is that treatment over a longer duration will not lead to any substantial weight loss. In other words, the drug does not work for everybody.
Despite the mixed reactions over the effectiveness of the Belviq drug. It is the symptoms that are major drawbacks. The prominent side effects of Belviq include dizziness, constipation, nausea and tiredness. Patients with diabetes might experience additional side effects like back pain, low blood sugar, cough and heart-related complications. A similar diet drug known as fenfluramine was taken off the market because of these symptoms.
Recently, FDA rejected the approval of Belviq for public use because of the heart problems, breast tumor development and increase brain functions that were associated with the drug. The pharmaceutical company refused to modify the drug. They only submitted research papers that showed that Belviq was not a risk factor if it was taken in little doses.
But even that poses a huge risk in itself. Belviq is highly addictive as people think that taking sizable doses in the absence of a healthy diet or working out hastens the weight loss process. It is surprising that the FDA has vetoed the use of this drug. Despite the health concerns this diet drug poses to people.
Belviq is not the only drug that has been certified by the FDA. Qnexa has also been recommended for approval even though documentation shows that it causes heart problems and birth deformities. Alli is another diet pill up for review, even though the side effects include oily excreta, vitamin deficiencies and potential liver damage.
