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

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Increasing numbers of young women are using Adderall to lose weight, according to an article in Allure magazine. Author Judith Newman wrote that the fad for using a drug that is commonly prescribed for Attention Deficit Disorder as a means to weight loss began in Hollywood.

"When a high-profile celeb suddenly drops a lot of weight, the rumors start that she is on 'A,'" said Kym Douglas, author of The Black Book of Hollywood Diet Secrets. "It isn't a secret among top stylists and makeup artists who work with celebrities."

It is uncertain how Adderall works, except that it somehow inhibits the uptake of three brain chemicals - dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. Like all stimulants, Adderall causes a feeling of euphoria and a loss of appetite.

Some pediatricians are already prescribing it to their obese young patients.

Dr. Fuad Ziai, a pediatric endocrinologist in Oak Lawn, Illinois, said that 90 percent of young patients on Adderall lost weight. He believes the side effects of Adderall - such as headache, irritability, mood swings, and increased heart rate - are not as bad as putting children at risk for diabetes and other problems because they are overweight.

Adderall is relatively easy for teens to obtain either through friends who have prescriptions for it or from illegal Internet pharmacies. Some use it not only for weight loss but also to get high. By crushing and grinding time-released Adderall capsules, they receive a bigger "rush" and maximum appetite suppression.

Labels: media_influences, medications, drugs

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A team of researchers from McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, has discovered that the Alzheimer's drug Memantine may help curb binge eating episodes in people who suffer from the disorder.

"In their study, [study chief Dr. Brian] Brennan's team had 16 binge eaters take Memantine for 12 weeks. With treatment, the average number of binges per week fell significantly from 5.5 to 1.2 and the number of binge days per week dropped from 4.4 to 1.1, which was also significant."

The study also found that although binge episodes were reduced, the drug did not have an effect on body weight, depressive mood, or anxiety. Source: Reuters Health

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The past 20 years has seen an unexplained hike in juvenile diabetes. Most teens are careful to manage their diabetes well, take insulin shots and watch their sugar intake. Some, however, have discovered a dangerous way of losing weight - by skipping or reducing their insulin doses.

"'It's extremely dangerous. I just had to admit one girl to emergency,' [Louis] Geoffroy added. 'When a child is losing weight rapidly, that's a clear indication. But some are borderline and we can't tell them apart from those who have poor control over their diabetes.'"

Dieting is considered the strongest predictor of eating disorder development. Teens with diabetes are at greater risk because they must, in order to regulate their condition, constantly calculate the nutritional value of their meals. Read more at Canada.com.

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