Weight Loss News
We include on this page daily health news from CNN Health, plus press releases and articles compiled by The Common Cent$Diet.
*******************************************************************************************************
HCG Diet Products Are Illegal, Says FDA
Anyone who has ever been on a diet knows
that there are sensible ways to lose weight. These include balanced
diets, exercising and realistic goals. And then there are reckless ways to shed pounds—fads and diet aids
that promise rapid weight loss, but often recommend potentially
dangerous practices. These include HCG weight-loss products marketed
over-the-counter (OTC) that are identified as "homeopathic" and direct
users to follow a severely restrictive diet.
The Food and Drug Administration is advising consumers to steer clear of these "homeopathic" human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) weight loss products. They are sold in the form of oral drops, pellets and sprays and can be found online and in some retail stores.
FDA and the Federal Trade Commission have issued seven letters to companies warning them that they are selling illegal homeopathic HCG weight loss drugs that have not been approved by FDA, and that make unsupported claims.
(For the list of manufacturers, distributors and products—and more information about FDA’s concerns about HCG—visit www.fda.gov/hcgdiet.)
HCG was first promoted for weight loss in the 1950s. “It faded in the 1970s, especially when it became apparent that there was a lack of evidence to support the use of HCG for weight loss.The diet has become popular again and FDA and FTC are taking action on illegal HCG products. “You cannot sell products claiming to contain HCG as an OTC drug product. It’s illegal,” says Brad Pace, team leader and regulatory counsel at FDA’s Health Fraud and Consumer Outreach Branch. “If these companies don’t heed our warnings, they could face enforcement actions, legal penalties or criminal prosecution.”
Elisabeth Walther, a pharmacist at FDA, explains that the agency does not evaluate homeopathic drug products for safety or effectiveness, and is not aware of any scientific evidence that supports homeopathy as effective. However, those that meet certain conditions set by FDA can be marketed. A reference document called the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States lists active ingredients that may be legally included in homeopathic drug products. “HCG is not on this list and therefore cannot be legally sold as a homeopathic medication for any purpose,” Walther says.
Women Still Use OTC Diet Pill Two Years After Recall
Women are still using an over-the-counter weight loss supplement recalled two years ago because it contains two potentially dangerous ingredients. The FDA recalled Pai You Guo in 2009 for containing sibutramine (the active ingredient in prescription diet drug Meridia). Meridia was taken off the market last year. The other ingredient is phenolphthalein, an ingredient pulled from OTC laxatives due to concerns over it being a carcinogen.
A survey of 585 Brazilian women living in Massachusetts (ref. Journal of General Internal Medicine) using Pai You Guo found that 85% reported at least one side effect, including dry mouth, anxiety and insomnia. The study found that 66% of the users got the supplement from acquaintances, while 30% got it from a store and 9% online.
Consumers have been warned that if they see a supplement with no distributor or manufacturer information on the label, and with packaging in a foreign language, be wary.
Obesity Rate Continues to Rise
Obesity rates continue to climb, according to the fifth annual report, put out by Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This year was the first that the researchers also looked at data spanning the previous two decades, in addition to doing their year-to-year update, and the long-term comparisons show much starker jumps in obesity. Over the past year, the obesity rate in adults has increased in 16 states.
20 years ago, no state had an adult obesity rate above 15%, and 15 years ago Mississippi was the fattest state, with a 19.4% obesity rate — notably lower that than of the least obese state today. When the overweight population is counted with the obese, current rates by state consistently top 60%.
The highest obesity rates are in the South, large swaths of which are poor and rural, and where fried foods are eaten in abundance. Following Mississippi, the most obese states are Alabama, West Virginia, Tennessee and Louisiana. It's not until No. 10 on the list, Michigan, that a state above the Mason-Dixon Line appears. The least obese states continue to be in the West and Northeast.
In a foreword to the report, former Surgeon General David Satcher presents a concrete number of Americans, 190 million, who are overweight or obese.
Diet Plans Ranked by The Magazines - How Good Are The Rankings?
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News's first-ever rankings, released last week, evaluated diets in seven categories, including short-term weight loss, long-term weight loss, easiness to follow, and nutritional completeness. The government-endorsed DASH Diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) snagged the top spot overall.
Weight Watchers came in #1, while Jenny Craig and the Raw Food Diet came in #2. The Glycemic Index (used by NutriSystem) and the Paleo Diet came in at the bottom, due to their alleged lack of scientific evidence and long-term weight maintenance. The Dean Ornish diet came in best for heart health.
The
best commercial diet plans included Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, then
Slim-Fast, while the Atkins Diet and Medifast came in last.
Best Diets cuts through the clutter of claims and half-truths to deliver the facts about 20 diets, including many, such as Weight Watchers, that are household names and others, such as the DASH Diet, that should be.
A U.S. News team spent six months researching the diets, mining medical journals, government reports, and other sources. An in-depth profile was then drawn up for every diet that explains how it works, whether its claims add up or fall short, and what risks it might pose, along with insights into living on the diet, not just reading about it.
A panel of 22 recognized experts in diet and nutrition and specialists in diabetes and heart disease reviewed the U.S. News profiles. Then the experts rated each diet from 1 to 5 in seven categories: short-term weight loss, long-term weight loss, how easy it is to follow, its nutritional completeness, its safety, its ability to prevent or manage diabetes, and its ability to prevent or manage heart disease.See results and methodology here:
http://health.usnews.com/best-diet
CNN Health - Daily RSS News Feed - See Articles Below:
