FDA Advisory Board: New Diet Pill Is Safe

Americans looking for another quick weight-loss fix may soon be tempted by orlistat, a new diet drug that's nearing approval by the Food and Drug Administration. Hopes previously pinned on Redux and the drug combination Fen-Phen were dashed by revelations that they can cause heart valve damage. But a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association says that orlistat has no such life-threatening side effects. Where Redux and Fen-Phen worked in the brain to suppress appetite, orlistat, made by Hoffman-La Roche, blocks the absorption of some fat in the intestines.

But our overweight nation shouldn't clebrate the wonder drug just yet. The study, which combined orlistat usage with a modified diet, showed only extremely modest weight loss. Participants who received the drug lost an average of only six and a half pounds more than those who took placebos; however, they did have better luck keeping the weight off. "It's not the magic bullet," says TIME health columnist Christine Gorman. "But literally every pound counts in terms of cholesterol and other health risks. Regaining only 35 percent of their lost weight is significant because regaining is so discouraging." And this drug is only for the morbidly obese, not the legions who want to drop a stubborn last 10 pounds. For them, the answer lies not in the medicine chest, but in the gym. "The best way to lose weight is to eat a low fat, balanced diet and exercise," Gorman reminds us. And for many that reality is a bitter pill to swallow.