we fitness professionals have much to fear from big Pharm: someday a drug will be developed that will remove one of the major impetus, or is it impeti, for people who seek out our services. well, maybe that drug is here:
Weight-loss supplement burns as many calories as 20-minute walk
while i would not be opposed to a drug like this hitting the market since it could help many who are simply unwilling or unable to help themselves drop the excess wt that’s contributing to their personal and our national health care crises, i am reluctant to either fear or tout it. when phen-fen hit the market ~20 yrs ago, and some of my clients got scripts for it, they continued to exercise believing that there were many other, more easily achieved benefits to it than a drug could offer. and i agree; i won’t even go into the list but most of you know them. in fact, the likelihood of exercise helping you lose significant amounts of wt is slim, unless bolstered by substantial dietary restraint. and that’s why i’m not about to tout the benefits of any drug or drugs when it comes to wt loss. there will be some – i would not venture to guess but i’d say quite a bit – who will succeed in using the drug without abusing the privilege of being able to eat more while take a drug to help you lose more. but there will be many more who will see the big mac as an option now that they can take a pill to counter its caloric boom. furthermore, losing wt helps with some elements of good health but activity would still be helpful for all the others, including keeping the wt off.
but the biggest reason i’m not afraid of a drug, especially the one discussed in this article, is that the side effects are yet determined. it took a few years before the heart valve issues of phen-fen reached a critical mass that took it off the market and instigated lawsuits. believe me- any drug that helps you lose the wt you’d lose by walking 20 minutes will have cardiovascular implications for those whose systems are already compromised by being overwt. so, fitness pros, relax: this new miracle drug will drive folks back into your clutches within 2 yrs of their taking the drug, and within 5 yrs of it being on the market. the rules of wt loss remain consistent with Newtonian physics: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, whether it’s eating too much or exercising too little, you’re still going to gain wt.