It is becoming more common for children, adolescents and teenagers to incorporate diet drugs into their efforts to lose weight, according to a new study in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

About 75 percent of surveyed youth were found to be using orlistat (brand name: Alli), a drug that has been associated with liver damage.

Using data from the General Practice Research Database, researchers at University College London, found the number of young people receiving prescriptions for anti-obesity drugs increased 15 times since 1999. However, most young people said that they stopped using these medications after a few months.

Labels: research, medications, drugs

Posted By: Aspen/CRC