Indiana News

FDA Approves New Weight Loss Drugs

7/20/2012

Two new weight loss drugs have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but a weight loss specialist isn't necessarily buying into them.

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For the first time in 13 years, the FDA approved two diet pills this week - Belviq and Qsymia. They are only approved for patients who are clinicially obese, with a body mass of 30 or higher.

Even for obese patients, one local doctor is not sold on the drugs. Dr. Teresa Rohr-Kirchgraver, director of the IU Center For Excellence In Women's Health, says studies on the drugs show an average weight loss of between five-percent and eight-percent, which is not much weight for someone who is obese. Rohr-Kirchgraver says proper diet and exercise are still the only effective ways to lose weight and keep the extra pounds off, saying many people are ignorant of how much they eat and how little physical activity they get.

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