According to the data provided by the Decision Resources Research company, the market of anti-obesity medications and therapies is likely to grow five times by the year 2016.
The company’s analysts anticipate that the market worth approximately $478 million 2 years ago will reach almost $3 billion within the next 8 years in the USA and Western Europe.

The report projects that such an incredible market growth will be mostly driven by the expected launch of a number of therapies such as Lorcaserin manufactured by Arena Pharmaceuticals and a combination of Pramlintide and Leptin delivered by Amylin. However, the report also predicts that the cautious attitude of the FDA towards the newly developed anti-obesity medications can significantly slow down the projected growth rates. The authors of the report base their opinion on the case of Rimonabant (Acomplia) manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis and the safety concerns over similar drugs in the class such as tranabant.

Computed Axial Tomography (Cat) scans of patients taking Acomplia (Rimonabant) have proved that the drug is effective in treating dangerous abdominal obesity which is known to cause diabetes.

An international study of Rimonabant in abdominally obese patients sponsored by Sanofi-Aventis confirmed that the diet drug can significantly reduce visceral fat and fatty liver index. 799 patients participated in the ADAGIO-LIPIDIS clinical trial. Apart form the abdominal obesity they were also diagnosed with low HDL-cholesterol dyslipimidia which can develop in atherosclerosis. The purpose of the trial was to evaluate the effect of Rimonabant on the levels of HDL (high density lipoprotein) cholesterol and TG (triglycerides) plasma in abdominally obese patients when prescribed over 1 year period together with a hypocaloric diet. The secondary objective was to asses the safety and tolerability of the patients to 20 mg of Rimonabant.

According to the leading researcher Dr Després of Université Laval (Quebec), patients receiving Rimonabant (Acomplia) had an average increase in HDL cholesterol of 9.7% while their TG plasma level decreased by 15.5%. It was the first Rimonabant trial to use Cat scanning. The results of cat scans suggest that taking the drug for 1 year results in more than 5.1% loss of subcutaneous fat as well as considerable decrease in the fatty liver index.

Merck & Co.s experimental diet pill, developed using research on marijuana, may curb the munchies and lead to Weight Loss, a study says.Patients taking the pill, taranabant, lost an average of 6 to 12 pounds, depending on dose. Those given a placebo lost about 3 pounds during the 12-week study, published today by the journal Cell Metabolism. The research is in the second of three phases of testing needed for U.S. marketing approval.

About 31 percent of Americans over the age of 20 have abnormally high body fat, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. The drug targets a receptor found in the brain and gastrointestinal tract discovered through study on marijuana, the researchers wrote.

“It’s known that when you smoke marijuana, which is a natural chemical that stimulates the receptor, the marijuana has beneficial effects on nausea,” said Steven Heymsfield of Merck, the study’s head researcher. The effect on the receptor, called CB1, explains why, he said.

Unlike marijuana, taranabant blocks the CB1 receptor, suppressing appetite. Side effects include anxiety, nausea, vomiting and frequent bowel movements, according to the study. All were more pronounced in the higher doses.

Larger studies will be done to determine the specific profile of the side effects, Heymsfield said. A bigger trial, the third phase of marketing tests, will end this year, he said.

continue reading "Merck Pill Derived From Pot Research Curbs"

A GROWING number of middle-aged Australians are joining a “calorie restriction” movement in a drastic bid to live for longer.

They believe eating about 20 per cent less than the recommended daily intake will extend their lifespans and help them avoid getting sick.
Evidence shows animals given fewer calories, or kilojoules, have longer life expectancies than those that eat an average amount.
Calorie restriction may also reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.
However, critics warn people who drastically restrict their diets may be more likely to develop eating disorders, nutritional deficiencies and fertility problems.

continue reading "Eat less - live long"

…over a billion people worldwide are overweight or obese, making the anti-obesity drug market big business. An estimated $1.2 billion was spent on anti-obesity drugs worldwide in 2005….. (bbc news)

“The purpose is not just to achieve weight-loss but to reduce health risk factors”
______________Dr Colin Waine

From Thanksgiving turkey to Christmas goose to New Year’s champagne, chances are you’re already embarking on a season of hefty eating. Could you stop yourself, even if someone paid you to?

We no longer have to fatten up to face winter scarcity, but the tradition of stuffing ourselves with seasonal delights continues. Holiday weight gain tends to be small–an average of a pound a year, according to one study–but it sticks with us and is a leading cause of obesity later in life. A little holiday overindulgence can lead to years of health problems later on. But we overeat anyway. One economist is actually suggesting cash incentives as a way to get people to shed pounds.

In Pictures: What Fat Costs America

Six in 10 people in the United States are overweight, with a third crossing the boundary into obesity. The extra weight leads to at least 100,000 deaths annually. Obese people are at a much higher risk for heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, arthritis and some cancers.
continue reading "What Fat Costs America"

Danish study warns on safety of Sanofi’s Acomplia

Patients taking the Sanofi-Aventis anti-obesity drug Acomplia have well over double the risk of depression and anxiety, researchers said, adding to the bad news for a drug already linked to suicidal thoughts.

Danish researchers reviewed four studies featuring 4,105 patients and found that people taking 20 milligrams per day of the drug were 2.5 times more likely to discontinue treatment due to depressive disorders and three times more likely to stop because of anxiety than those who received a placebo.

The findings published in the Lancet journal follow a U.S. advisory panel decision in June that the drug should not be approved in the world’s largest drugs market because it may increase suicidal thoughts and depression.

“Taken together with the recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration finding of increased risk of suicide during treatment with rimonabant, we recommend increased alertness by physicians to these potentially severe psychiatric reactions,” Arne Astrup of the University of Copenhagen and colleagues wrote.
continue reading "Warning from Reuters"

Making the decision to start a Weight Loss program is the smart choice to a happy and healthy life. But getting rid of those unwanted pounds is not always easy. That is why Acomplia is the weight loss miracle pill that you have been looking for.

Acomplia contains the active ingredient know as Rimonobant that has been proven by medical scientist to actually block the CB1 brain receptors that activate the feelings of hunger in your stomach. By blocking these receptors, Acomplia simply lowers your desire to eat which will quickly let you loose those unwanted pounds as well.

And unlike many other weightloss pills that are for sale today, Acomplia has been proven to not only take 10% of your current body weight off but it also keeps it off. Even better is that Acomplia targets the waist area most of all so you can have that flat attractive stomach that who have always wanted.

In clinical studies, people who take Acomplia have shown no weight gain at all even after 2 years.

And Acomplia (Rimonobant) has been shown to help with cholesterol as well as the entire cardiovascular system.

People in Europe have been making the decision to buy Acomplia online for years now and have had nothing but great results. So what is keeping you from making the smart choice to buy Acomplia as well? People everywhere are finally getting the Weight Loss results that they have been wanting and so can you. Buy Acomplia or generic Acomplia online today and get ready to have that slim and attractive body that you have been dreaming of.