Living in a contemporary society where we are obsessed with self-image and weight means people may be reduced to desperate measures. With the increase in sales of dieting pills and the availability of them online, experts have warned the increased consumption of slimming pills could put lives at risk.
The United Nations drug control board says a growing number of women desperate to lose weight are buying these drugs on the internet. The warnings come after the death of 21-year-old anorexic Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston. She is believed to have been taking slimming pills and painkillers.
Obesity is a huge issue in our society, as we have recently seen in the dramatic increase in media coverage of obese children and adults. Society puts a massive amount of pressure on celebrities and models to be thin, thus influencing adults and teenagers to be slim.
The important question is: do these pills even work and why are people willing to put their lives at risk? In reality, most dieticians agree that any weight loss achieved is usually due to a change in lifestyle rather than the pills themselves.
Many diet pills provide very little information about their ingredients, how they supposedly work, for whom they are suitable or any other potential side effects. This lack of information poses a real health hazard, as certain ingredients in slimming pills may be unsuitable for people with medical conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure – both of which are more common in people who are overweight or obese.
Many websites simply provide an online pharmacy, enabling customers to buy a range of diet pills, often at discounted prices.
The main function of these sites, like any shop, is to make money. In contrast though, some websites are more subtle and are designed to look as though they could be part of a medical establishment.
The UN’s International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) calls for stricter enforcement of control measures and public education campaigns about the risks from the misuse of prescription drugs.
President of the INCB, Dr Philip Emafo, explained that appetite suppressant drugs, also known as anorectics, have a use in the treatment of life-threatening obesity when prescribed. “However, they are instead being used indiscriminately to feed the slimming obsession that affects some societies.”
The scale of the problem in the UK is unknown. Last year, a study found more than half of 1,230 UK women surveyed by Closerdiets.com admitted using slimming pills.
Professor Hamad Ghodse, former president of the INCB, said: “We need to know the size of the problem in the UK. We think probably there are adequate regulations in place, but there needs to be the implementation of these regulations.”
The question is: how desperate are people to lose weight? Are they willing to put their own lives at risk at the thought of being a few stone lighter? If so, it is a serious problem which needs to be dealt with.
