NEWS: Children Could Get 'Anti-Obesity' Pills

Children as young as 12 could soon be given 'Anti-Obeseity' pills to help them shed excess weight. Pharmaceutical company Roche has said it has new data showing their drug 'Xenical' can work in under 18's.



This is just rediculous!!!

Why on Earth should children be given dieting pills to keep their weight down, surely it should be down to the parents to make sure children are fed properly and given plenty exercise.

People will come to rely on these pills and forget the proper ways to shed excess fat like eating healthily and getting plenty of proper excercise!

[edit on 8/8/2005 by MickeyDee]

Here's an anti-obesity idea: Stop eating junk and stop guzzling 55 gallons of coke a day.
This pill is a dream come true for irresponsible parents!

At first I thought great, loose weight while watching TV, COOL!

Then I thought, well with EVERY drug there is at least 1 downside/side effect...

Well have a look for yourself....

Side Effects

Because XENICAL works by blocking the absorption of dietary fat, it is likely
that you will experience some changes in bowel habits. These bowel changes are a natural effect of blocking the fat from being absorbed. They generally occur during the first weeks of treatment; however, for some people they may continue for 6 months or longer while on XENICAL. These changes may include gas with oily discharge, an increased number of bowel movements, an urgent need to have them, and an inability to control them, particularly after meals containing higher amounts of fat than are recommended.

thtsnasty. Oily discharge......yuk.

As others said before this drug should ONLY be used in extreme cases even then I think it would be unfair on the person.

Hey look I'm all for easy weight removal but when side effects like oily discharge and inability to control your bowles comes into play I think I'd rather keep control and loose weight the hard way.

As they say -- "No pain, no gain"

~Peace ~

[edit on 8/8/05 by Hunting Veritas]

Here's an anti-obesity idea: Stop eating junk and stop guzzling 55 gallons of coke a day.
This pill is a dream come true for irresponsible parents!

My thoughts exactly!

If these pills are made 'mainstream' more parents will rely on them to keep their kids slim, meaning less work for them!


Mic

Hey look I'm all for easy weight removal but when side effects like oily
discharge and inability to control your bowles comes into play I think I'd rather keep
control and loose weight the hard way.

These changes may include gas with oily discharge, an increased number of
bowel movements, an urgent need to have them, and an inability to control them,
particularly after meals containing higher amounts of fat than are
recommended.

If they continue to eat nasty fatty greasy food, they get nasty greasy oily discharge. Isnt that a surprise!
Its sad, we really have become a pill dependent society.

It is so sad that we will eventually become dependant on pills to keep our weight under control.

What a sad world we live in!

I almost feel bad for parents out there. The thought that theres a company out there who thinks they're lazy enough to use them must drive many parents crazy.

But on the other hand there are parents who will use these things. And I think it's absurd. Since when did children require pills to keep weight down. There is such thing as exercise and healthy eating.

Can anyone remember Orlistat?

There's a reason we in the pharma industry called it "Oily sh..." well, you get the point

Anyway. The bigger problem here is our pandemic obsession with The Quick Fix.

It's much easier to load up your kids with pills, instead of encouraging them to move around more and eat less junk food - it's just another quick fix, for our quick fix world.

Yes, there are genuine instances where a weight problem can't be fixed as easily as reduced calorie (or carb, depending on which one you prefer) intake and increased activity, but they're rare in adults, let alone children; I just fear that in allowing our kids to take these drugs, we're drumming it home to an entire generation that "Yeah, it's ok, it's a quick fix, and you don't have to do any work at all, really....bonus, ya?!"

And I'm not even touching on the side effects.

I still remember the phen-fen lawsuits.

Xenical does work (for about $180 a month it should), but I wouldn't want to take a gym class or have to sit in school for 8 hours while on it.

The best thing for true "anti-obesity" is breast (not cow) milk during your formative period. Everything after that is maintenance.

I'm just wondering how well this stuff is going to sell. From what I figure, quite well, especially if the drug company can give Congress a few campaign donations to make this stuff over the counter (assuming it's not already). I can just imagine, this will be the new Asprin, referred to as a regular part of life in less than 10 years.

And of course here comes the end of exercise and healthy eating. It used to be exercise was for two things; Getting fit, and preventing obesiety. Now it's just going to be getting fit. With this pill people will think that the second incentive is gone (I doubt it's really a cure). So figure among the users of this drug, exercise roughly falls in half.

When I exercise I never even bother thinking about the fact that I'm avioding obsiety. I exercise because it makes me more capable outside my house, and apparently people think that fit people look better. Now just imagine how many who don't exercise, who use that train of thought are going to get off. The new concept will be "Exercise is just like extra credit, not doing it won't hurt you".

This false "messiah" (best word I could think of) probably won't do a whole lot. Sure it'll help to lose a few pounds. But chances are it's no cure, it'll probably just slightly lessen the effects. And with the stupidity of people, combined with marketing these days, people will think it'll remove all need for exercise and proper dieting.

Then of course say hello to the new anorexia. Just think of the marketing; You can have all the fun of anorexia while eating as much as you like. Or better yet, anorexia not working? Try adding this pill to your lack of eating.

I swear, if I were overweight and my parents tried giving me one of these, I'd tell them they can cram that pill up their... well you get were this is going. In other words, I'd be pissed and I'd never forgive them. Nothing works quite like exercise and proper dieting.

the problem is that this is a parents decision. If they feel their kids problem is one that requires medicine then let them pay for it. The rights of parents have been trampled many a time these days and though i feel that there are many irresponsible parents who contradict what the kids are forced to learn in PE, it is still the right of those parents to raise them in an unhealthy diet wise environment.

No matter whether its the parents choice or not to bring up their kids unhealthily, the children should not be allowed to rely on pills to keep their weight down.

the problem is that this is a parents decision. If they feel their kids problem is one that requires medicine then let them pay for it. The rights of parents have been trampled many a time these days and though i feel that there are many irresponsible parents who contradict what the kids are forced to learn in PE, it is still the right of those parents to raise them in an unhealthy diet wise environment.

You're right, Conrad. Parents do have certain rights, but the problem is, where do the rights of the child end (those protected by law), and the rights of the parent begin?

It could be argued that by allowing the child to remain obese, they're endangering his welfare.

And it could be argued that by giving that same child anti-obesity drugs, they're also endangering his welfare.

Where is the line drawn?

Do we want the law to protect us when we allow our kids to damage themselves, because that's our right as parents, to do what we think is best?

Or do we want the government to be allowed to wade in and trample all over our parental rights when it suits them, because they might know better?

There are obviously many grey areas inbetween these two extremes, but I can see both of them being used quite successfully in court.

Ironic isn't it, 2.5 million people may starve to death in Niger alone. But in America they're trying to find drugs so they can consume more food and not have to worry weight gain.
This makes me sick, if kids are fat then just change their daily intake from the 11000 calories a day to 3000, like normal people.
America is going to have a whole generation who are extremely unhealthy and no nothing more than how to sit on their arse and play XBox.

Exercise you lazy wankers.

[edit on 9-8-2005 by rogue1]

The reason I am reluctant to allow the law to parent goes to a case in Utah where a boy had a tumor on his toungue and was surgically removed. The state said it could come back at any time and though the boy appeared healthy should be administered chemo-therapy. The parents wholly disaggree and stated the kid should be allowed to lead a normal life now. The state filed then transferred custody to a foster family so the boy could receive treatment. The parents took the boy and fled Utah only to find the state had filed kidnapping charges against them.

Once the case was settled in court the states decisions were thrown out, and two years later the parents are suing the state. The boy remains cancer free to this day.

Yeah, rogue, because nobody else in the world has a problem with obesity.

Get a grip.

The UK is almost as bad, and Australia and Canada aren't too far behind.