The Dangers of Diet Pills

At University Bariatrics we’ve long warned of the dangers of “quick fixes” when it comes to weight loss. No matter what the new fad you hear about, the truth is that weight loss only occurs as the result of hard work and effort. Particularly for those suffering with severe obesity, weight loss is particularly challenging because traditional methods like diet and exercise are ineffective 99% of the time. Nevertheless, alternative “tricks” and “hacks” continue to dominate headlines, perhaps none more so than diet pills. 

First and foremost, what everyone should understand about diet pills is that they just don’t work. Medical science consistently backs up the fact that weight loss pills will not result in any actual weight loss on their own. To make matters worse, recent reports indicate that many common weight loss pills can actual result in serious side effects. Some pills contain fenfluramine which has been banned in many places due to its association with negative effects on the heart and lung. Sibutramine is another common ingredient which has been linked to heart attack and stroke. Considering the reality that weight loss pills don’t work anyway, we feel it’s clearly not worth these risks. For patients suffering from severe obesity, a sleeve gastrectomy performed by an experienced professional is a much better choice. As a popular center for bariatric surgery in Thousand Oaks our team is proud to provide the outstanding treatments our patients need.