ALABAMA A&M and AUBURN UNIVERSITIES

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NEW WEIGHT-LOSS DRUG NO PANACEA

AUBURN, FEB.19---It's the largest and longest study of its kind on record, but for millions of Americans looking for a quick fix to obesity, the results were disappointing. That's because the study found the new anti-obesity drug Orlistat provided only modest weight loss among people who used it.

"This drug is not a quick fix," says Dr. Robert Keith, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System nutritionist. "I don't know what kind of niche it is going to occupy on the market, but it's not going to be a magic bullet by any means."

The study involved 892 healthy, but obese, adults, mostly women, who were studied at 18 medical centers throughout the country. Their average weight at the start of the study was 220 pounds.

After one year, those who were randomly assigned the Orlistat and requested to follow a weight-loss diet lost an average 19.3 pounds. However, subjects given dummy pills and placed on the same diet lost 12.8 pounds, which meant a difference of less than 7 pounds.

All things considered, Keith says, the results of the study probably won't produce a groundswell of interest inthe new drug.

"Since it apparently isn't going to produce that much of a weight loss, it's not something someone only a little overweight should bother taking," Keith says. "As for the people who are morbidly obese - roughly 100 pounds overweight - any weight loss is good, but what's the incentive to use Orlistat when you're looking at only 7 extra pounds?"

Another problem with the study is that data collected from participants who dropped out of the study wasn't analyzed.

"If this group got out because they weren't losing any weight, then the mere 7-pound differential could be even lower," Keith says.

Orlistat works by blocking enzymes in the body from absorbing fat. As a result, fat is quickly passed through the intestinal tract and eliminated. While the method is safe, Keith says some dieters have complained of persistent diarrhea in the course of treatment with the drug.

Orlistat is not a "blockbuster" drug: it concentrates only on fat and has no affect on other dietary factors contributing to obesity.

"It's designed to keep the body from absorbing fat,"Keith says, "but if you don't control your caloric intake and still consume too many carbohydrates and sugars, you're still going to be overweight."

The medical community remains divided over the benefits of Orlistat. In March, an advisory committee to the agency split, 5 to 5, on the question of whether the drug should be marketed.

Dr. Jules Hirsch, a member of the committee voting against the new drug, says he considers the weight loss minimal and the improvements in heart risk so small that it would be impossible to determine if the drug even would lead to improved health.

Orlistat has been approved for marketing in Europe and costs about $116 a month.