When should you consider using Weight loss pills? All the answers

Weight loss pills can only be considered if one fails to loss 10% of the recommended weight after 6 months on a low-calorie diet, increased physical activity and behavior therapy.

Weight loss pills should be used only by patients who are at increased medical risk because of their weight and shouldn’t be used for “cosmetic” weight loss. The conditions considered serious enough to permit use of pills are hypertension, dyslipidemia, CHD, type 2 diabetes, and sleep apnea.

Uganda faces a problem of lots of dietary supplements flooding the market and being distributed by unprofessional people. This has left the population at risk of reckless drug use It is therefore incumbent on every one to seek the right information from the right people for example if you want to lose weight talk to a Professional Nutritionist or talk to a doctor who will refer you to a Nutritionist.

It is important to remember that the major role of pills should be to help patients stay on a diet and physical activity plan while losing weight. Medication cannot be expected to continue to be effective in weight loss or weight maintenance once it has been stopped therefore continued diet and physical exercise comes in.

The side effects of the use of weight loss drugs include increased blood pressure and heart beat. Because of the possibility of serious adverse effects, practitioners use drug therapy with caution. Practitioners should be sure that patients are not taking drugs that have been withdrawn from the market for safety reasons.

Herbal medications are not recommended as part of a weight loss program. They contain unpredictable amounts of active ingredients plus unpredictable and potentially harmful effects.

A combination of a proper diet and body exercises is still the best weight loss remedy for anyone with a low risk of obesity.

Mpiima Jamiru is a Nutritionist/ Dietitian at Victoria University Health Center

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