Diet pills can help a person lose weight faster. However, it can also affect his/her health. Diet pill contains a toxic ingredient, phenolpropanolamine that can cause complications ranging from nervousness, seizures, and death (Diet Pills, 2009). Different diet pills contain different ingredients, so they vary in side effects. Fat blockers like Orlistat, or Xenical, remove excess fats from the intestines that may cause cramping, gas and diarrhea (Watson, S. ND). Xenical is used together with reduced-calorie diet and weight maintenance to treat obesity, but it reduces the body's absorption of essential vitamins and nutrients such as calorie. Drastically reducing calories may slow down the metabolism and limit weight-loss (deValentino, J. 2010). Siburtramine or Meridia stimulate the sympathetic nervous system which increases the risk of heart attack and cardiac arrest (Watson, S. ND).
Most diet pills are drugs known as amphetamines, or "uppers", which are, in earlier times, prescribed for depressed patients to raise their spirits. "Uppers" make them feel alert but they need to keep taking the drugs so the effect won't subside or they go from feeling 'way up' to feeling 'way down.' Thus, they have to keep taking them to fell alert and this is called addiction. (Safe Dieting For Teens, 2008) When a person is taking diet pills, he/she would lose his/her appetite and, eventually, lose weight. But these drugs are chemically related to "uppers" and cause the same effect. They may not be as strong as "uppers" but they still cause negative effects such as insomnia, constipation, headache, dry mouth, nausea, nervousness, and increase in heart rate and blood pressure. (Ojeda, 2008).
To treat these complications, it is recommended to stop taking the drugs right away. The person must increase his/her fiber intake, and he/she is recommended to meet a physician regularly.
