No matter which government you ask around the world, there’s one common health concern. Too many people are overweight. The result? The cost to medical insurance companies and those governments with socialized medical services has spiralled out of control as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases have run like an epidemic through local communities. In three years time, it’s estimated that more than two billion people will be overweight and, of those, 600 million will be clinically obese. We cannot afford to allow this trend to continue. But there’s a problem. There’s massive demand for drugs to help people lose weight, but there’s a serious shortage of supply. Many of the drugs that went through evaluation were refused approval because they did not produce consistent results or, when there were good results, the risks of side-effects were unacceptable. For those drugs that were approved, the retail prices were high. States considered them “lifestyle” drugs and not medications worthy of subsidy. Put together, there were too many barriers for these drugs to keep pace with demand.

Producing a drug to promote weight loss is a real challenge. The truth is simple. People put on weight because they choose to eat too many calories and fail to exercise enough to burn of the resulting fat. Although all the major pharmaceutical companies are developing possible drugs, there are no magic pills in the pipeline. The idea of a “fat-buster” is not yet scientifically feasible. Until that day comes, the only solution is to combine lifestyle changes with one of the existing drugs on the market. People must eat less and exercise more. That’s not just smaller portions, it’s smaller portions of healthy food. And the exercise? Well, that can start off gentle, but it has to burn off excess calories, so be prepared to put in some effort.

Which brings us to the big question. Which drug to use? The best answer is acomplia. In all the clinical trials, it helped the participants to lose the most weight and to reduce their waist measurements. On average, people lost 10% of their weight and about 3 inches from their waists. But, as with all these medications, there’s a problem. Although acomplia has the best track record of all the drugs that have been approved, it does cause a small number of people to be depressed. Thus, if you have any history of depression or other mental disorders, do not buy acomplia. Lose weight through your own efforts with the help of one of the other drugs.