Product Name & COMPANY
|
Percent Body Weight-Loss Performance (12 mo)
|
Ingredients
|
Beneficial Effects, Metabolic Potential and Side Effects
|
Factor4 Weight Control®
NOVALIFE |
16.2%
Up to 33%
in morbid obesity
|
Power Amino Acids® (essential, positive-charged, and satiety amino acids) with backup protein, vitamins, minerals and micronutrients
(all natural active ingredients) |
Four Benefits:
- Tames appetite
- Builds muscle
- Burns fat
- Boosts energy
- With essential nutrition (amino acids and protein), this product is anabolic, increasing muscle tone and improving metabolic health, including sleep
- No harmful side-effects
|
Belviq®
ARENA PHARMA |
3.1 to 3.6%
|
Fenfluramine
(5-hydroxytryptophan reuptake inhibitor |
- Psychotropic drug, which decreases appetite
- The Fen component in Fen-Phen, which was withdrawn from the market for damaging heart valves
- Without essential nutrition (amino acids and protein) this product is catabolic, possibly leading to muscle wasting and poor metabolic health
|
Qsymia®
VIVUS PHARMA |
10 to 11%
|
Phentermine |
- Metabolic enhancer: The Phen component of Fen-Phen, which was withdrawn from the market for damaging heart valves
- Stimulant not recommended for long-term use. It increases heart rate and elevates blood pressure.
- Potential for dependency like Speed
- Pulmonary hypertension a rare side effect.
- Without essential nutrition (amino acids and protein) this product is catabolic, possibly leading to muscle wasting and poor metabolic health
|
Topiramate/Topomax |
- In addition to satiety, this ingredient is known to cause fatigue, confusion, and nausea.
- A generic epilepsy & migraine drug that can also cause tingling in the fingers and toes and diminish memory and concentration (called by some the “stupid pill” because the patient goes around in a fog).
- Topomax during pregnancy led to a 2-fold to 5-fold greater risk of babies with cleft lips or palates.
- Besides the drug regimen, the patient must exercise and take a low calorie diet with supplements.
- Without essential nutrition (amino acids and protein) this product is catabolic, possibly leading to muscle wasting and poor metabolic health
|
Over the past year the FDA has approved two weight loss drugs for commercialization. One is called Belviq® by Arena Pharmaceuticals. The other is Qsymia® by Vivus Pharmaceuticals. Both of these products, under different names, together with a third product called Contrave® by Orexigen Pharmaceuticals, were rejected by the FDA in 2011 for relatively poor efficacy and potential harmful side-effects. So what made the FDA change it mind about the two products that were recently approved? The Advisory Committee for Weight Loss products at the FDA switched sides and became concerned that there were not enough tools for doctors to treat overweight disorders and obesity. They came to believe that the potential benefits of turning the tide in obesity out-weigh the potential side-effects of these drugs.
The agency appears to be increasingly concerned about assessing the tangible benefits of weight loss in terms of improving health and quality of life, according to Janet Woodcock, the current head of the FDA. Some of the recent advisors believe there is a strong need for new obesity drugs to help bridge a treatment gap between diet and exercise, on the one hand, and bariatric surgery on the other.
Not everybody agrees with the FDA. Critics say that the recently approved drugs do little to change the underlying behavior leading to obesity. Because weight loss drugs will be used for long periods of time by millions of people, the FDA should be cautious and the drugs must be completely safe. According to Sidney M. Wolf, Director of Health Research at Public Citizen, “Everyone wants a quick fix, but these drugs can be dangerous.”
Factor4 Weight Control® was formulated to use nature’s gift, all-natural Power Amino Acids®, to harness the body’s own feedback mechanisms to tame appetite, re-balance metabolism, and normalize body weight. While Factor4 stimulates fat metabolism by reducing food intake, the formula ensures that essential nutrition is maintained through the intake of amino acids and backup protein. Factor4 is therefore anabolic, designed to increase muscle tone and metabolic health. According to Dr. Scheele, other weight-loss drugs are considered catabolic, with the potential to lead to muscle weakness and poor metabolic health as food intake is reduced.
Which one of the three products listed in the above table would you take?