Popular weightloss pills

Herbal or dietary supplement	The claims	What you need to know
Bitter orange	Decreases appetite	Touted as an "ephedra substitute" but may cause health problems similar to those of ephedra Long-term effects unknown
Chitosan	Blocks the absorption of dietary fat	Relatively safe, but unlikely to cause weight loss Can cause constipation, bloating and other gastrointestinal complaints Long-term effects unknown
Chromium	Reduces body fat and builds muscle	Relatively safe, but unlikely to cause weight loss Long-term effects unknown
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)	Reduces body fat, decreases appetite and builds muscle	Might decrease body fat and increase muscle, but isn't likely to reduce total body weight Can cause diarrhea, indigestion and other gastrointestinal problems
Country mallow (heartleaf)	Decreases appetite and increases the number of calories burned	Contains ephedra, which is dangerous Likely unsafe and should be avoided
Ephedra	Decreases appetite	Can cause high blood pressure, heart rate irregularities, sleeplessness, seizures, heart attacks, strokes and even death Banned from the marketplace because of safety concerns, but may still be legally sold as a tea Despite the ban, many ephedra products still sold on the Internet
Green tea extract	Increases calorie and fat metabolism and decreases appetite	Limited evidence to support the claim Can cause vomiting, bloating, indigestion and diarrhea May contain a large amount of caffeine
Guar gum	Blocks the absorption of dietary fat and increases the feeling of fullness, which leads to decreased calorie intake	Relatively safe, but unlikely to cause weight loss Can cause diarrhea, flatulence and other gastrointestinal problems
Hoodia	Decreases appetite	No conclusive evidence to support the claim

Weight Loss Safely

Overweight people have an increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and other illnesses. Losing weight reduces the risk. This brochure tells you how to lose weight safely.

Ask Your Doctor About Sensible Goals

Your doctor or other health worker can help you set sensible goals based on a proper weight for your height, build and age.

Men and very active women may need up to 2,500 calories daily. Other women and inactive men need only about 2,000 calories daily.

Exercise 30 Minutes

You need to use up the day's calories and some of the calories stored in your body fat.

Eat Less Fat and Sugar

This will help you cut calories. Fried foods and fatty desserts can quickly use up a day's calories. And these foods may not provide the other nutrients you need.

Make sure your other foods that day are low in fat and calories.

Eat a Wide Variety Of Foods

Variety in the diet helps you get all the vitamins and other nutrients you need.

Diet Pills

If you do use them, read the label carefully. Also, be careful about taking cough or cold medicines with diet pills you buy without a prescription. These medicines may contain the same drug used in diet pills, or a similar drug with the same effects.

Effects on health

A large number of medical conditions have been associated with obesity. Health consequences are categorised as being the result of either increased fat mass (osteoarthritis, obstructive sleep apnea, social stigma) or increased number of fat cells (diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease). Central obesity (male-type or waist-predominant obesity, characterised by a high waist-hip ratio), is an important risk factor for the metabolic syndrome, the clustering of a number of diseases and risk factors that heavily predispose for cardiovascular disease. These are diabetes mellitus type 2, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and triglyceride levels (combined hyperlipidemia)

1. Cardiovascular: congestive heart failure, enlarged heart and its associated arrhythmias and dizziness, cor pulmonale, varicose veins, and pulmonary embolism
2. Endocrine: polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), menstrual disorders, and infertility
3. Gastrointestinal: gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), fatty liver disease, cholelithiasis (gallstones), hernia, and colorectal cancer
4. Renal and genitourinary: erectile dysfunction, urinary incontinence, chronic renal failure, hypogonadism (male), breast cancer (female), uterine cancer (female), stillbirth
5. Integument (skin and appendages): stretch marks, acanthosis nigricans, lymphedema, cellulitis, carbuncles, intertrigo
6. Neurologic: stroke, meralgia paresthetica, headache, carpal tunnel syndrome, dementia, idiopathic intracranial hypertension
7. Respiratory: dyspnea, obstructive sleep apnea, hypoventilation syndrome, Pickwickian syndrome, asthma
8. Psychological: Depression, low self esteem, body dysmorphic disorder, social stigmatization
9. Musculoskeletal: hyperuricemia (which predisposes to gout), immobility, osteoarthritis, low back pain

BMI

BMI, or body mass index, is a simple and widely used method for estimating body fat. BMI was developed by the Belgian statistician and anthropometrist Adolphe Quetelet.

Metric: BMI = kg / m²

Where kg is the subject's weight in kilograms and m is the subject's height in metres.

US/Customary: BMI = lb * 703 / in²

Where lb is the subject's weight in pounds and in is the subject's height in inches.

BMI less than 18.5 is underweight

BMI of 18.5–24.9 is normal weight

BMI of 25.0–29.9 is overweight

BMI of 30.0–39.9 is obese

BMI of 40.0 or higher is severely (or morbidly) obese

BMI of 35.0 or higher in the presence of at least one other significant comorbidity is also classified by some bodies as morbid obesity

BMI overestimates body fat in persons who are very muscular, and it can underestimate body fat in persons who have lost body mass (e.g. many elderly).

Obesity

Obesity is the condition of being much too heavy for ones height. People are called obese when the weight is a threat to their health.

To know if a person is overweight, the body mass index (BMI) is calculated, by dividing the weight (in kilograms) by the height of the person in meters, squared . Someone who is 1.75m tall, and has a weight of 80kg, would have a BMI of 80 / 3.0625. This gives a BMI of 26.12.

People with a BMI of 25 or more are considered overweight; with 30 and above, they are considered obese, and with 35 and above, they are considered severely obese (this used to be called morbidly obese).

Obesity is usually helped by diet (being careful about what food to eat) and exercise Some people also use weight loss programs. In severe cases, drugs can be given. In very severe cases, weight-loss surgery can be done. Obesity can occur for many reasons, the main two are over-eating and genetic inheritance.

Dangers Diets

Extreme calorie restriction, medication or unusual patterns of eating (i.e. restricting food consumption to a single fruit or meal) can be dangerous.

Medications

Certain medications can be prescribed to assist in weight loss. Some, like amphetamines, are dangerous now banned for casual weight loss.

Diuretics

Diuretics induce weight loss through the excretion of water. These medication or herbs will reduce the amount that a body weighs, but will have no effect on an individual's body fat. Diuretics can thicken the blood, cause cramping, kidney and liver damage.

Stimulants

Stimulants can cause kidney and liver damage, sudden heart attacks, addiction, and ischemic strokes.

Popular weight-loss diets

Popular diets (sometimes pejoratively called "fad diets") usually derive their popularity from the personalities of their proponents. These proponents include "diet gurus" and celebrity converts. "Diet books" are the primary means of communicating the specifics of popular diets.

Most popular diets experience short-lived popularity, partly because new diet books are continuously being published.

Diet proponents often locate medical professionals to back up their work. Many popular diets advocate the combination of a specific technique (such as eliminating a certain food, or eating only certain combinations of foods) with reduced caloric intake, with the goal being to accelerate weight loss.

Low-fat diets

Low-fat diets were popular during the 1980s and 1990s, encouraging people to eat foods low in fat (or without fat altogether) and instead eat foods high in carbohydrates. The general public came to believe, partly due to information from low-fat diet proponents, that carbohydrates were "energy food" and that only fat made people fat. This led to high consumption of low-fat foods high in refined carbohydrates (notably corn syrup), which may have contributed towards increased weight gain as carbohydrates (particularly refined carbohydrates) have a low nutrient density and high in calories. Some low-fat diets like the Pritikin diet focus on whole grains, vegetables and lean meats.

Atkins diet

The Atkins diet was originally designed for diabetes patients who wanted to manage their insulin levels more effectively. The diet also causes acidosis and mild fatigue.

Natural diets

Since the advent of controversial diets such as Atkins, various diets that stress the eating habits of "natural humans" have been developed. The Paleolithic Diet imitates the way people ate during the Stone Age. These eating plans include basically natural foods (those not processed by humans). Whereas the Paleolithic Diet excludes milk and grain-foods, The Evolution Diet excludes human-made ingredients such as partially hydrogenated oils but allows some processed foods such as whole-grain crackers and dairy products.

Vegetarian diet

There is a growing body of evidence that vegetarian diets can prevent obesity and lower disease risks.

According to the American Dietetic Association, "Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer."

Vegetarians on average weigh 10 percent less than non-vegetarians. And in a year-long study comparing Dean Ornish's vegetarian diet to Weight Watchers, The Zone Diet, and The Atkins Diet, subjects on The Atkins Diet achieved the most weight loss.