Geschatte leestijd: 5 minutenIn recent years, many new insights have been gained into how body fat and fat burning work. Yet we are still awaiting the perfect weight loss pill. A pill capable of achieving tailored fat loss without undesirable side effects. Why does it actually take so long?
Weight loss pills that work
When you hear words like ‘the perfect weight loss pill’ or ‘a weight loss pill that really works’, you often have two possible reactions:
- I’m being fooled and it doesn’t work.
- It works. Until you drop dead.
An example of the second reaction and the trigger for this article is of course the recent warning about the fat burner DNP. However, we have often written about substances that can offer significant results as fat burners, but can have many dangerous side effects.
However, a much larger number of people have personal experiences that lead to the first reaction. Countless fat burners are sold that may be safer to use, but have too little potency to have the desired effect.
“Obesity defeat?”
I notice that in recent years I have changed when it comes to the cause, but especially the blame for obesity. Although the cause is still as simple as an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, there are large individual and genetic differences that affect metabolism. With the same intake and expenditure, we simply see large differences in the degree of any imbalance and its consequences.
But also when it comes to the psychological factors that lead to certain choices regarding exercise and diet, we are discovering more and more about the processes that influence them. For example, how quickly you get hungry and how quickly you feel satiated. But also to what extent you listen to these physical impulses and weigh them against rational considerations. We also see differences in the speed at which behavior changes into habit, making it more difficult or easier for some to develop a routine. Personally, I find it increasingly difficult to use words like “discipline,” “perseverance,” and “willpower” when it comes to obesity. The more we learn about the processes that lead to certain choices, the more we can question to what extent there is actually a “choice.” However, we also see that doctors are quick to blame the patient for obesity, as recently described in an article.
That doesn’t mean that I want to dismiss all forms of personal responsibility. But even if you believe that it is just laziness, ignorance, and a lack of discipline that causes obesity, you still have to explain why this has become an increasingly bigger problem over the past decades. Apparently, biologically we are becoming less and less equipped to deal with our environment, considering the abundance of unhealthy food and the decreased need for physical activity to move around. Even if it is ‘one’s own fault’, that doesn’t change the fact that the health consequences are unacceptable. Apparently, as a society, we are not doing enough to combat obesity.
No coaching against it
The growing group of people at increased risk for things like diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular diseases shows that current possible interventions are insufficient. The majority of people who successfully lose weight find it back within a few years. Success stories thus appear to be relative.
Personally, I am therefore willing to say that there is actually no coaching against this. You appeal to that piece of rational ability to stand up against physical impulses that push in the wrong direction and sometimes a metabolism that works against you. You can compare it a bit to the treatment of an alcoholic. In the best case, you can successfully help someone deal with the addiction by forbidding giving in to a strong physical desire for the rest of their life.
And that sucks! Having to constantly fight a strong need.
Don’t get me wrong; all praise for professionals who help with weight loss. We haven’t invested so much time, money, and attention in the development of Fitsociety’s online coaching app for nothing. Coaches, personal trainers, dieticians, and psychologists form an anti-obesity army armed only with tactics for behavior change, motivation, support, and knowledge sharing. Obesity is armed for this battle with about 400,000 years of evolution, hormones, neurons, proteins, enzymes, and specialized cells of which we only partially know the function in most cases. Not so strange that sometimes we have to call in the surgeon as cavalry when we are in danger of losing the battle.
We are mainly busy with symptom control while we don’t change anything about the cause. We make a lot of effort to rewrite our software and deal with hardware that works against us.
Where is that damn weight loss pill!?
I love Sci-Fi, but especially Sci-not-so-Fi. Documentaries about the latest scientific developments that will drastically change our way of life in the relatively short term. I think it’s fantastic. Also terribly annoying because in some cases you can get a little impatient. Where are those flying cars that have been promised to us for more than twenty years? When can I use my public transport chip card for a return trip to Mars? Is it the Playstation 5, or Playstation 25 where the VR world of games is indistinguishable from reality?
Although I have personally less interest (inherited six-pack), I notice the same irritation when it comes to the development of medication for weight loss and fat burning. I think I write articles based on new insights into fat burning monthly. Just this week, two articles about the fat-burning properties of cinnamon and beige fat. Almost always, the studies that these articles are about conclude with words like: “We are very excited about the possible implications in the fight against obesity and hope to learn more about how we can use this knowledge in future research.”
But when are we really going to make progress? Or is that pill already there?
As mentioned, doctors often react differently to obesity than to certain diseases. There can often be resistance to prescribing medication for weight loss, while this is obvious for diabetes. Many of the complaints of type 2 diabetes can, however, also be prevented by a healthier lifestyle, just as the diabetes itself can often also be prevented by a healthier way of life.
There are already agents that have been proven effective in weight loss. Some work by reducing hunger, others by limiting the ability of fat cells to absorb fatty acids. Other agents are effective, but are not safe as studies on long-term safety have not been conducted. With obesity, however, the side effects seem to be perceived as disproportionately faster compared to the benefit of weight loss.
For most weight loss medications, they only show significant results in combination with a modified diet and exercise program, and this result is often limited to 10% of body weight [1]. That is not very impressive considering that modified diet and more exercise are often the challenge.
We should not expect miracle cures soon. Given the complex workings of metabolism and hunger, the solution may need to come from a combination of agents currently being tested. Safety dictates that long-term trials are held here.
I only hope for two things:
- That such prolonged research is not delayed before it starts because people think that the real solution can only be found in behavior.
- That if such medication is developed and becomes available, doctors do not wait until your BMI rises above 30 before prescribing it.
The alternative is that we change the environment ourselves. However, that seems to me to be a bigger challenge.
References
- Franz MJ, VanWormer JJ, Crain AL, Boucher JL, Histon T, Caplan W, Bowman JD,Pronk NP. Weight-loss outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of weight-loss clinical trials with a minimum 1-year follow-up. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007 Oct;107(10):1755-67. Review. PubMed PMID: 17904936.
