Two out of every three Americans are overweight or obese. This isn’t exactly breaking news considering the plethora of McDonald’s, Burger King and IHOP eateries across the country. The consumption of meats and deep-fried food along with the neglect of fruits and vegetables has not helped our condition.
Of course, people, mainly women, are troubled by their image due to the standard of beauty established by the media. Tall and skinny is the way to go while obesity is equated with ugly, according to society. Due to this, people have tried everything from diet pills to bulimia in order to get rid of the weight. Now, there might be another option. Arena Pharmaceuticals stated on Monday that its experimental drug to treat obesity has succeeded in its first late-stage clinical human trial.
The drug is called Lorcaserin (sounds tasty) and it works similarly to Wyeth Pharmaceuticals’ anti-obesity drug, Fenfluramine. However, it supposedly does not have the fatal side effects of Wyeth’s drug, which causes damage to heart valves (but you’ll be skinny!). The way Lorcaserin works is that it stimulates a receptor in the brain, which is believed to regulate thoughts related to food without binding to similar receptors related to the heart. Apparently, the drug is meant to suppress thoughts of hunger which will allow you to starve yourself without the suffering (for only four annual payments of $Life Longevity + Health). However, the average weight loss for people taking the drug for a year was 12.7 pounds or 5.8 percent of body weight, which probably won’t help people who are OBESE and need to lose significant weight (the 1,000-pound man would have to pop those pills like they were Skittles).
Whatever happened to daily exercise and a healthy diet? Weight loss is hard, there’s no doubt about it, but that’s because you have to put the time and effort into it. You can’t expect to lose weight by taking a pill or getting one of those vibrating stomach belts. You do it by running, walking, playing a sport and by replacing your Big Mac with a sandwich of whole wheat bread, fresh lettuce, tomatoes and turkey. Need a snack? Throw that Snickers into the garbage and eat a salad (on second thought, give me the Snickers). In my opinion, obesity isn’t a disease; it’s a choice. It’s about self-control. I’m not saying you shouldn’t enjoy a nice big meal once in a while, but once every two hours is pushing it.
This world we live in is quite the paradox. Our nation has to deal with people gorging themselves on White Castle burgers while people in third-world countries fight over a banana and die from drinking contaminated water. I’m not trying to make people feel guilty … OK, maybe a little bit, but you deserve it. Throwing away food because you don’t want the extra calories or binge eating because you got dumped from a doomed relationship seems irresponsible in my view. So don’t buy any diet or anti-obesity drug. They’re a little thing I like to call bullshit. Instead, jump on the scale, hit the gym, maintain a healthy diet and, for God’s sake, stop asking me if you look fat in those jeans because you know my answer … of course not!