Reductil

Reductil (sibutramine), the prescription only weight loss drug has had its license withdrawn by European regulatory authorities. The EMA announced on 21 January that after years of research the drug was considered to present more risk than benefit to some users. As a consequence patients currently being treated by their doctors with Reductil will no longer be able to renew their prescription.

Reductil was launched in 2003 by Abbott Ltd. It helps people lose weight by acting in the brain to increase their level of satiety, making them feel fuller after eating and so reducing total calorific intake. There had long been concerns that its common side effects of raised blood pressure and fast pulse could make users more vulnerable to heart attacks and strokes. The recently published results of the SCOUT study, a 5 year multinational clinical trial, in the opinion of the EMA, appears to show that it does. Consequently it has been withdrawn with immediate effect.

This news will come as a disappointment to many users across Europe. I have used Reductil since 2003 with some of my patients, often with good results. Weight loss drugs don’t cause weight loss, but they can support weight loss programmes through making it easier to effect lifestyle change through a variety of means. The only prescription drug now available for doctors and patients is Orlistat, the gastric lipase inhibitor, also available over the counter as Alli.

However my opinion remains the same as always. The only safe, effective way of losing weight and keeping it off long term is to adopt a healthy, controlled diet, and to incorporate increased physical activity into our daily lives. All the evidence shows that the most successful long term weight loss patients have managed to initiate this, often with specialised support, and maintain it for many years to come.

Dr Ian W Campbell

European Drug Agency Rules Against Abbott Diet Pill

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--European regulatory authorities on Thursday said an Abbott Laboratories (ABT) diet pill should be suspended from the market because the risks of stroke and heart attack are too great with the medicine.

The European Medicines Agency said sibutramine weight-loss products should be suspended from the market in the European Union after a study of 10,000 patients suggested it put them at a higher risk for heart disease. These medicines are sold in Europe under the brand-names Reductil, Reduxade, Zelium and other names; and as Meridia in the U.S.

The agency said "the risks of these medicines are greater than their benefits."

Abbott sells Meridia in the U.S. and Reductil, Sibutral, Raductil and Ectiva outside the U.S.

Shares of Abbott closed Thursday at $55.56, down 68 cents, or 1.2%.

Healthy diet may benefit women's mental health

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who suffer from depression and anxiety may want to take a look at their diet as possible contributors to these conditions, study findings hint.

Science | Health

Dr. Felice N. Jacka, at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues report mood disorders were more common among women 20 to 93 years old who, over 10 years, ate primarily processed, refined, high-fat foods.

"There's no magic diet," Jacka commented in an email to Reuters Health. But eating a diet mainly of vegetables, fruit, whole grain foods, low fat dairy products, and lean meat, and reserving processed and sweet treats to "sometimes foods," will aid physical health and may also support mental well-being, she said.

Weight Loss: Setting The Record Straight

It's time to set the record straight. The only reliable way to lose weight is to eat less or exercise more. Preferably both.

So why bother to state the obvious? Because a body of scientific literature has arisen over recent years, suggesting that fat oxidation - burning the fats we eat as opposed to the carbohydrates - is enough to promote fat loss. It isn't.

Sydney scientists have demonstrated that mice genetically altered to burn fats in preference to carbohydrates, will convert the unburned carbohydrates into stored fat anyway, and their ultimate weight and body composition will be the same as normal mice.

It all comes down to an enzyme known as ACC2 (acetyl-CoA carboxylase), which controls whether cells burn fats or carbohydrates. When it was shown that 'blocking' ACC2 will force cells to burn fats in preference to carbohydrates, many assumed that such 'fat burning' could make fat stores evaporate, and make people thin without changing food intake or energy expenditure.

VAT Rise and Deliveries

We would just like to make people aware that we have absorbed the 2.5% VAT increase, so our plates still retail at £19.99! The only difference is to the shipping we have had to add the 2.5% on that. We are doing our best to keep our prices as low as possible for people at this time.

We are now back at the office and up to full strength (well apart from the sneezing and coughing! Unfortunately our distribution centre is snowed in and we are experiencing some severe delays to orders. If you have ordered from us on or after 23rd December, please bear with us, we are trying everything in our power to get your orders to you.


We hope you all had a great holiday.

Team Diet Plate

Happy New Year

We would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. may this year bring you health welath and happiness.