Daily HealthBeat Tip - April 16, 2007

The skinny on diet pills

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ray Sass with HHS HealthBeat.

Diet pills may be easy to take, but there's a catch: many of them don't work, and they may not be safe.

That's according to Dr. Heidi Blanck of HHS' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Still, her study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found one in seven adults have used over-the-counter diet pills and herbal products for weight management. Why's that bad?

“Many of these products have claims about their effectiveness that can be false or misleading. They may, for example, suggest that significant weight loss can be achieved without diet or exercise.” (9 seconds)

Many products also use words like “natural” and “herbal” to imply they're safe. But Blanck says “natural” doesn't make it safe.

Her recommendation: skip the pills. You're better off avoiding sugary drinks, taking the stairs, and eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole-grains.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ray Sass.

Last revised: April, 18 2007