One-third of prescription diet pill users not obese; one in ten get pills from family and friends

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Thursday, November 18, 2004 11:16 am Email this article
One-third of people using prescription diet pills were not obese before taking the pills according to a study conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 1 in 3 also took nonprescription diet products

“One third of users also reported taking nonprescription diet products,” according to the paper.

1 in 3 people taking Pondamin (fenfluramine) or Redux (dexfenfluramine) continued taking the pills after the FDA withdrawal

“Among fenfluramine or dexfenfluramine users, one third continued pill use after the market withdrawal and only one quarter received echocardiogram.”

1 in 10 got prescription diet pills from family and friends

One in ten users reported getting their medication from family, friends and other non-physicians.

Subjects: 16,480 people from six states surveyed in 1998

The study looked at data from 16,480 people from six states who were surveyed in 1998 in a random telephone survey.

REFERENCE

Blanck H, Khan L, Serdula M. Prescription weight loss pill use among Americans: patterns of pill use and lessons learned from the fen-phen market withdrawal. Prev Med. 2004 Dec, 39(6):1243-48.

AUTHOR’S CONTACT INFORMATION

Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, GA 30341-3717, USA

Articles on the same subject can be found here:

• Diet drug use

• Fen-Phen