Fat-Absorption Pill

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  Fat-Absorption
Pill		 Robert Seith | CWK Network
 
 
“It’s
the only dietary product that is not centrally acting or stimulant
to the nervous system.”

–

Lonny Horowitz, M.D., explaining one of the good things about the drug Orlistat…a
drug however, he does not recommend.

  Related Information What Parents Need To Know Resources

Would
you take a pill that blocks the absorption of 30-percent of the
fat in your diet?

“I’d say ‘can I have it?’,” says
17-year-old Christine.

“That’d be pretty cool, I’d do it,” adds
16-year-old Angie.

“Yea sure, why not?” adds 16-year-old Emily.

In fact, there is such a pill: the generic name is Orlistat

“And what it does is it prevents the absorption of fat
through the intestinal tract,” says Weight Loss Specialist
Lonny Horowitz, M.D.

A study of over 500 teenagers published in the Journal of the
American Medical Association found that those who took Orlistat
for a year lost 5 percent more weight than a control group.

But there’s a catch:

“In a large percentage of people who take it, about 40-percent,
they have uncontrollable diarrhea and uncontrollable bowel cramping
and that sort of thing from the medicine,” says Dr. Horowitz.

Hearing that, Angie has second thoughts… “Nope,
I don’t think I’d take it then.”

“You can only imagine having uncontrollable diarrhea in
algebra class,” says Dr. Horowitz.

He says another problem, especially for growing children, is
that the drug also prevents the absorption of important nutrients.

“It may be blocking some of your fat soluble vitamin absorption,” says
Dr. Horowitz, “So there are some other issues involved, whether
you do have to be on multiple vitamins and vitamin supplementation
and that sort of thing.”

So, he says while it’s sounds good at first… Orlistat
is not a magic pill…

“The pill itself is not enough,” says Dr. Horowitz, “So
if the family commitment is there to support the kids through nutritional
guidance, the exercise, etcetera, then I think it could be helpful
as an adjunct to everything else put together.”

Some teens, like 16-year-old Samantha and 18-year-old Yana say
it’s just not worth it. “I wouldn’t take. Because
I fell like I could lose weight on my own.”

“I don’t know, I’d rather just diet and exercise.”

By Larry Eldridge
CWK Network, Inc.

Should parents encourage their slightly overweight children to begin
taking diet pills? Could even suggesting taking the pills result in an obsession
with weight and lead to an eating disorder? These are tough questions to
answer, but some studies suggest that dieting and taking diet pills may do
more harm than good.

A national survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention of more than 11,000 high school students revealed the
following statistics about teens and diets and dieting pills:

  • More than one-third of girls considered themselves “overweight,” compared
    with less than 15 percent of boys .
  • More than 43 percent of girls reported they were on a diet,
    and a quarter of these dieters didn’t even think they were
    overweight.
  • The most common dieting methods teens tried were skipping meals,
    taking diet pills and inducing vomiting after eating.
 
By Larry Eldridge
CWK Network, Inc.

If you and your child decide that weight loss
is necessary, drugs and medicine may not be the most appropriate course of
action. Experts at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration suggest making a
few simple changes in your child’s eating habits to “emphasize
healthy foods and exercise” before taking more drastic measures. They
say this is good advice for everyone, not just those trying to lose weight.
Every person will have differing food pyramids, but the following are general
guidelines:

  • Refer to the USDA’s Food Pyramid. Guidelines suggest eating
    six to 11 servings per day of grains (bread, cereal, rice and pasta).
  • Eat three to five servings of vegetables daily.
  • Eat two to four servings of fruit.
  • Each day, eat two to three servings of dairy (milk, cheese and
    yogurt) and protein-rich foods (meat, eggs, poultry, fish, dry
    beans and nuts).
  • Also, limit the amount of high-fat foods your child eats. Encourage
    your child to eat a variety of foods so that he or she doesn’t
    get bored.
  • Keep your child’s mealtime portion sizes reasonable.
  • Make sure your child gets regular exercise (three times a week).

In addition to changing eating habits, maintaining a healthy exercise
regimen is important for your child. Experts at the American Obesity
Association (AOA) suggest the following ways in which you can establish
a lifetime of healthy habits for your family:

  • Make time for the entire family to participate in regular physical
    activities that everyone enjoys. Try walking, bicycling or rollerblading.
  • Plan special active family outings, such as hiking or skiing.
  • Start an active neighborhood program. Join other families for
    group activities like touch-football, basketball, tag or hide-and-seek.
  • Assign active chores to every family member, such as vacuuming,
    washing the car or mowing the yard. Rotate the schedule of chores
    to avoid boredom from routine.
  • Enroll your child in a structured activity that he or she enjoys,
    such as tennis, gymnastics, martial arts, etc.
  • Instill an interest in your child to try a new sport by joining
    a team at school or in your community.
  • Limit the amount of television
    your child watches.
 
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
American Obesity Association
 

Is My Child Fat?

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Education Feature
Is My Child
Fat?
By Robert Seith
CWK Senior Producer
 
“I felt
that I just wasn’t good looking, that I would never
be able to do what I wanted to do in life because I was fat.”
-Megan Waples, 14-
When 14-year-old Megan Waples first started gaining
weight, her parents didn’t say a word.

“It’s hard for a parent to admit your child isn’t
perfect,” says Megan’s father, Christopher Waples.

In fact, a new survey by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention found that among parents with overweight children,
one-third believed their child was “about the right
weight.”

“It’s that unconditional love that parents have
for their children and they don’t look at them objectively,”
says Kathleen Zelman, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic
Association.

For Megan and her parents, the wake-up call came from classmates’
cruelty.

“Just being called fat, being called a pig, being called
a cow,” Megan says.

“It broke my heart,” adds her mother, Sharon.

Weight is a difficult subject. How much overweight should
a child be before you bring it up? Experts say your child
will know.

“Ask your child what does your kid think? Most kids
are probably going to be really honest with that. They’re
going to say, ‘Oh, I think I’m too fat,’”
says Dr. Lonny Horowitz, a weight-loss specialist.

Then, consult with a pediatrician, dietician or other expert,
who will suggest ways you can help your child to trim down.

“Stock the pantry with healthy foods. Eat family meals
together. Serve healthful meals. Kick them off the couch,
[and] help them find something to do that they love,”
Zelman says.

Megan still loves to eat, but she eats right, and she exercises
regularly now. And having lost 26 pounds and growing 2 inches
in height, she now loves the way she looks.

“I’m starting to get really happy,” a tearful
Megan says. “I mean, these aren’t tears of sadness,
these are tears of joy because I’m starting to look
the way I want to look.”
 
Related
Information

Findings from a Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention study show that one in
three mothers believe that their child is “about the
right weight” when, in fact, the child is overweight.
Consider these additional statistics about children and weight
based on a parental survey administered by the American Obesity
Association:

  • Almost 30% of parents said they are “somewhat”
    or “very” concerned about their children’s
    weight.
  • Among six choices of what they believed to be the greatest
    risk to their children’s long-term health and quality
    of life, 5.6% of parents chose “being overweight or
    obese.” More parents selected other choices as the
    greatest risk: alcohol (6.1%), sexually transmitted disease
    (10%), smoking (13.3%), violence (20.3%) and illegal drugs
    (24%).
  • Thirty-five percent of parents rated their children’s
    school programs for teaching good patterns of eating and
    physical activity to prevent obesity as “poor,”
    “non-existent” or “don’t know.”
  • Comparing their own childhood health habits to their children’s,
    27% of parents said their children eat less nutritiously,
    and 24% said their children are less physically active.
 

Reducing childhood obesity is especially important
because children who are obese tend to become overweight adults.
Childhood obesity has been linked to the development of diseases
like high blood pressure and diabetes, both leading causes
of kidney disease.

A child is considered overweight if he or she is heavier
than 85% of other children who are the same age and height.
A doctor can determine that by using a chart. If a child has
bigger bones, it’s possible that may be the reason for
weighing more.

Since weight problems are very difficult to fix, and because
weight-loss programs are often ineffective, it’s important
to prevent obesity in the first place. Here are some tips,
from the American Academy of Family Physicians, to help keep
your child at a healthy weight:

  • Don’t make your child eat when he or she isn’t
    hungry.
  • Don’t use food to comfort or reward.
  • Don’t offer dessert as a reward for finishing a
    meal. It teaches your child to value sweets more than other
    foods.
  • Offer your child a healthy diet. No more than 30% of his
    or her calories should come from fat, and he or she should
    eat lots of fruit, vegetables and grains.
  • Don’t eat at fast-food restaurants more than once
    a week.
  • Limit how much television your child watches. Try to get
    your child to do something active instead, like riding a
    bike or playing ball.
  • Spend time being active with your child. Go on family
    walks, and play outdoor games together whenever you can.
  • Teach your child good eating and exercise habits now.
 

American
Academy of Family Physicians
American
Obesity Association
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention