Surge of women desperate to get a perfect figure by losing weight putting their lives at risk. A death of 30-year-old woman in Bhopal recently bring to light the use of “Slimming pills” which are consumed in improper manner.
Slimming pills are mostly taken by plump women before getting conjugal or when they are not able to conceive.
With immediate reduction of 5 to 10 kg these pills entice young women but they do have life-threatening side-effects.
The person whose Body Mass Index is more than 30 cannot make use of these pills. The overweight can use the tablets but not the obese, as their body is already under a lot of pressure and, therefore, the pills are not recommended, according to experts.
The first generation of tablets, containing ingredients such as Sibutramine, which was taken off the market as it put persons at an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.
According to Dr K.S. Lakshmi, senior consultant of minimal access bariatric and metabolic surgery at Global Hospitals, said, “The slimming pills have cardiac toxicity. In an established set-up it is not prescribed without proper cardiac evaluation. These pills only help to control the appetite whereby the mind feels that the stomach is full. The absorption of fat during this period is minimal. Hence there is a feeling of immediate weight loss and lightness in the body. But it is just a myth. The minute people stop taking the tablets, the weight bounces back and is almost double.”
Well most of the doctors advice their patients not depend on these pills. Their job of these pills is to control the hunger, but actual weight loss happens when there is a proper diet plan followed together with a set of exercises.
Dr Venugopal Pareek, bariatric surgeon, said, “The second generation of tablets like orlistat is very safe with minimal side-effects. The side-effects are sticky stools, abdominal cramps, frequent urge to pass stools, staining of undergarments due to uncontrolled passage of gases. But these tablets can be prescribed for only two to three months depending on the BMI.”
“Most of the patients have already had an experience by picking up the pills over the counter. Some of the tablets available in the market work towards reducing the water in the body which is very dangerous. The body when it loses water is definitely going to weigh less,” said a senior doctor.