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Article: Weighing Alli's impact: eating disorder patients might be tempted to abuse the first FDA-approved nonprescription diet pill.(EATING DISORDERS)
- Article from:
- Behavioral Healthcare
- Article date:
- June 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Vendome Group LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In February the FDA approved Alli, an over-the-counter (OTC) version of orlistat (Xenical). Alli is expected to arrive in drugstores this month. The advent of America's first FDA-approved nonprescription diet pill likely will assist some people attempting to lose weight because of the medical risks associated with obesity. Yet because Alli will be readily available, some patients with eating disorders likely will abuse this medication and potentially incur dangerous medical side effects.
Research suggests that people with eating disorders regularly abuse OTC diet products to control weight and suppress appetite. Between 28% (1) and 64% (2) of eating disorder ...