Penlope Kapambwe
14 November 2007
Ndola — NATASHA dreads the day she has to leave home for college next year. Her problem? Being plump is considered a curse at 19.
She has always admired the slim university girls in town. And she is certain that she will stand out like a sore thorn among roses when she joins those 'well-preserved' girls in college.
Rather, a whale among star fish is the right way to put it, she concludes. With that thought in mind, she has decided to save enough money for diet pills to solve her 'weighty' problem.
Natasha is not the only young woman who has to battle with her body image, and daily insecurities about her weight, in a generation that is slowly threatening to become too 'thin' to accommodate the fuller figured woman.
From the fashion runway, to the prestigious silver screens and even the local conductor on the minibus, comes a reflection of 'slim is ideal', and people with smaller frames are favoured. Losing weight has not only become a health issue but a matter of gaining acceptance and fitting in with the 'crowd'.
However, the manufactures of pills that promise to wave the magic wand that can make the kilogrammes disappear are having a field day. The queue of customers continues to drop off a few bank notes in their accounts with the hope of dropping the 'excess' Kilos off their bodies.
The sad fact is that many of the slimming pills that are selling like hot cakes on the market are not devout of negative side effects; in fact, experts recommend a good old fashioned exercise routine and a healthy diet for those who have problems with carrying their weight around, instead of popping a few diet pills for a quick fix.
According to Vishanti Sighh, a Pharmacist, many women seem to be taking what seems like the easiest and quickest route towards weight loss.
The first thing that greets the eye when one enters his pharmacy on the top shelve, is different brands and packets of diet pills neatly packed, each one, well-balanced, on top of the other, opposite the entrance.
Mr Signh says some diet pills work as appetite suppressants, helping an individual stay hunger free. He says that most of the side effects of these types of drugs are drowsiness, dryness in the mouth and increase of the heart beat.
Subutramine, is one example of diet pills that fall under the category of appetite suppressants. According to the Weight Loss Resource, the pills work by indirectly boosting levels of serotonin and noradrenaline in the brain - two neurotransmitters or chemicals that act on the part of the brain that tells us how hungry or full we feel.
When there are more chemicals in this part of the brain, the brain gets more messages to say we feel full. This means we feel more satisfied with less food, so eat smaller amounts and lose weight.
Mr Signh says that he personally recommends such pills, only to people that are suffering from obesity but believes that a better option for overweight people is to change their careless eating habits and have a good exercise routine, which will produce maximum results gradually. Nevertheless, he does not rule out diet pills as ineffective.
"Although some pills can help individuals lose weight fast, others could be addictive and they require continuous use. Some people have used such pills, and then after receiving the desired result, stopped. After some weeks, their weight problems return. In the cases that I have seen, the person even gains more weight than they had, initially,' Mr Signh said.
Referring to the pills that contain caffeine, Mr Sighn says that the caffeine partially acts as an anti-sedative to combat the drowsiness that results from the side effect of drowsiness in some pills.
The internet has become home to advertisements and a shopping mall for diet pills, making a lot of promises but not exactly highlighting the disadvantage of the 'magic pills' that are up for sale.
An online review on Diet Pills authored by Juliet Kellow, a Dietician for Weight Loss Resources, quotes popular online adverts for diet pills.
'Fool your brain into thinking you're full!', 'Eat all your favourite foods but still lose weight!', 'Fire up your body's fat-burning furnace!'.
'These are just a few of the claims you will find on websites that sell pills to help you lose weight. And with the promise that you can eat what you want but still lose large amounts of weight in a short amount of time, it's unsurprising many of us are tempted to buy and try,' Ms Kellow writes.
She therefore reports that many pills bought online provide very little information about what they contain, how they supposedly work, for whom they are suitable or any potential side effects. This lack of information poses a real health hazard as certain ingredients in slimming pills may interact with other prescribed medications or be unsuitable for people with medical conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure - both of which are more common in people who are overweight or obese.
According to the report, some diet pills contain caffeine, usually in combination with several other stimulating ingredients. Some common examples of brands include Zantrex and Xenadrine. The caffeine in these pills is often from plant extracts such as guarana, herb a mate, green tea and kola nuts. As a result, products are often described as being 'herbal' or 'natural', inferring they are completely safe. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and supposedly boosts the body's potential to burn fat.
Ultimately though, most diet pills containing large amounts of caffeine have similar unpleasant side effects to drinking excessive amounts of coffee. These include anxiety, an increased heart rate, raised blood pressure, nausea, diarrhoea, restlessness, shaking, irritability and insomnia. Caffeine is also addictive and is especially bad for people with a high blood pressure or heart problems.
Further expert information was gathered from a private clinic, and Doctor M.D.I Mezher was particularly wary about the side effects of appetite suppressants.
"I personally do not recommend appetite suppressants to any one, let me show you why,' Dr Mezher said.
He opened his medicine cabinet, and pulled a small packet from a shelf. From it, he pulled a long list of instructions that he said was for an appetite suppressant called Duromine.
"These types of diet pills have adverse effects like, precordial pain; hypertension and can also cause cerebro-vascular accidents and angina. Those are just some of the major complications that could be experienced,' Dr Mezher said.
Indicating the list in his hand, he continued "You can see the list is very long, and one must make a decision about taking such pills after careful consideration of the pro's and cons. For those that are capable, exercise and a healthy diet is the safest course to take'.
Despite the warning from experts in health and medicine, a number of people that are better informed about the 'But' to diet pills continue to pop the pills and turn an obstinate ear. Others have managed to receive results with minor side effects but many still face the risk of paying a weightier price in their quest for an effortless way of getting physically 'fit' as fitness is defined according to their social circles.
Natasha still wants to buy the diet pills. After all, physical exercise is too involving and the few times she has tried it, she ends up breathless and her muscles painfully stiff. She says that she has an aunt who uses them and receives little side effects.
That is consolation enough, but if Natasha is unfortunate, hers will not be a success story and the ends might not justify the means when she ends up a good example, of diet pills gone terribly wrong.
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