Comment Because they don't work well? (Score 1) 670
If you read the results when they publish stories about these drugs they're not effective for weight loss. Sure, losing 5% of your starting body mass in a year sounds great unless you can do simple math. If you weigh 300lb that means you'll lose 15lb in a year, just over a pound a month. Now read the pages of potential side effects and tell me that's a worthwhile medication.
Sadly the ONLY effective weight loss drug was amphetamine. They stopped using it almost 50 years ago. I think that it deserves another look as an effective weight loss drug. Yes it has side effects but all of them do.
For everyone doing the "eat less, exercise more" or "do this fad diet by cutting essential food groups" rhetoric - shaddap. I see weight loss drugs as a way to get a person down to near a healthy, maintainable weight and then they're done. During the assisted process is where counseling and monitoring come in. By the time they've lost the weight they have made lifestyle changes to keep it off.