The FDA has approved Qsymia for use today by those who are obese, with a BMI of 30 or more, or for those who have a BMI of 27 with weight related illness.
The history of weight loss pills has been fraught with law suits due to life threatening side affects and prescription abuse by physicians and patients.
The major problem with weight loss drugs is that they don’t address the underlying causes of weight gain such as the psychological component of over eating and the food itself.
There is wide ranging debate regarding the way certain processed and scientifically engineered foodstuffs react with human physiology and metabolism.
Until we confront these two major issues surrounding food it will be difficult to solve America’s obesity epidemic with a pill.
“Given the literally insatiable appetite of doctors and patients for new drugs as a quick fix for obesity, there is every reason to believe that, if approved, a combination like this, will be used by millions, over long periods of time far beyond its labeling indications. Because of a long list of safety reasons, this drug should not be approved,” the group’s Dr. Sidney Wolfe told the FDA advisory panel in 2010. Vivus, the company that makes Qsymia, hopes it will be a safer successor to the notorious and now banned “fen-phen” diet cocktail. Fen-phen combined fenfluramine and phentermine — one of the two drugs in Qsymia — but it damaged the heart in some cases and caused a condition in some patients called pulmonary hypertension, which causes fluid to build up in the chest, bringing a feeling of breathlessness.
The FDA used spy software designed to help employers monitor workers and capture screen images from the government laptops used when they working from home.
A detailed surveillance, of the five scientists in question, included monitoring of keystrokes, personal e-mails, documents on personal thumb drives and line by line messages which were captured by the agency.
A dispute lasting years between the scientists and their bosses at the F.D.A. fueled the intense scrutiny of the information.
The scientists’ claims that faulty review procedures at the agency had led to the approval of medical imaging devices for mammograms and colonoscopies that exposed patients to dangerous levels of radiation is at the center of this investigation.
Moving to quell what one memorandum called the “collaboration” of the F.D.A.’s opponents, the surveillance operation identified 21 agency employees, Congressional officials, outside medical researchers and journalists thought to be working together to put out negative and “defamatory” information about the agency.
F.D.A. officials defended the surveillance operation, saying that the computer monitoring was limited to the five scientists suspected of leaking confidential information about the safety and design of medical devices.
A recent study found that kids who played on three or more sports teams in a year, were 27% less likely to be overweight, and 39% less likely to be obese than those teens who did not play team sports.
The study also found that biking or walking to school had less of an effect on a student’s weight – although it did reduce their likelihood of being obese.
Researchers believe playing high school sports, which usually involve regular practices and competitions, reduces a child’s chances of having a weight problem because of the strenuous and consistent workouts. Therefore, study authors conclude, increasing a child’s opportunity to play sports, even if they are not gifted athletes, should be a priority, especially for teens and children entering middle school or high school.
Organized sports is a fun way to motivate kids to keep active and stay competitive.
Baldness, Color Blindness, Lactose Intolerance, Acne and Heart Disease are traits which are genetic.
In an age when we do everything possible to be our best there are some things we just can’t change. Colorblindness affects about 10 percent of men but less than 1 percent of women. It is directly inherited, and here’s why it’s more common in men: Genes for the eye’s red and green receptors sit near each other on the X-chromosome. Men have one X-chromosome, which they inherit from their mother; women have two, and a good gene will often balance out a defective one. Ninety-nine percent of cases involve the challenge of distinguishing between reds and greens. Complete colorblindness, or achromatopsia, is rare, affecting about one in 30,000 people worldwide. Interestingly, colorblind people dream in whatever colors they normally distinguish when awake.
Be careful before taking out huge loans to get a degree from a for-profit college. Make sure you're not getting suckered into for-profit college scams that leave you with no job and huge debt.
This blog is for consumers of health care and medical services. Basically, it’s for everyone. For health issues you should always see a doctor or qualified medical professional - we are not dispensing medical advice. You should, however, be an educated consumer, so we offer information to help you start the process to become educated and to ask important questions. There are many excellent resources on the web, along with all sorts of conflicting opinions and advice. The key is to use a wide variety of resources to learn and access information, so you can ask the important questions when you are with your doctor or health professional.
