Diet Drug Meridia May Cause Heart Attack and Stroke

Last Friday, the diet drug Meridia was pulled from the shelves in America by its maker, Abbott Laboratories.

Meridia, a prescription drug, was known to cause a higher risk of heart attack and stroke when in trials, but scientists believed this effect might be compensated for by the weight loss benefits. It wasn't.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requested Meridia's removal, stating that the increased heart disease and stroke risk wasn't an acceptable price to pay for the "very modest weight loss" that the drug causes.

Since January, Meridia hasn't been sold in Europe. It has now been withdrawn in Canada and Australia, as well as in America.

It's little surprise that despite the risks to dieters, Abbott were reluctant to withdraw Meridia from sale. Diet pills can be hugely profitable for drug companies:

So far this year, the pill [Meridia] had $80 million in sales worldwide, including $20 million in the U.S. Source

However, after a number of health scares related to diet drugs, perhaps dieters will turn back to tried-and-tested methods of safe weight loss: a healthy diet, combined with exercise.

Both aren't just good for losing weight, they're also great for a healthy heart.

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Doctors Communication Style Matters for Weight Loss

A study from Duke University showed that the manner in which Doctors communicated with patients, regarding their weight loss, impacted their success -- it is better to be Dr. Mark Green than Dr. Greg House, when broaching the subject of weight.

The study is published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Researchers recorded the conversations between 40 primary care physicians, and 461 of their overweight or obese patients, over an 18-month period. Investigators were tracking how much time was spent and, specifically, how doctors talked with their patients about diet, exercise and weight loss. (The doctors were not told what the researchers were looking for).

Doctors discussed weight with patients in 69% of cases. Doctors spent an average of 3.5 minutes discussing diet and weight issues -- about 15% of the visit.There was little difference between patients who were counselled vs. those who were not, in terms of weight loss.When researchers accounted for the doctor's communication style, however, they found a statistically significant difference between communication styles.Patients whose doctors talked about diet and weight loss in a more motivational fashion, using predominantly reflective or empathic statements, were much more likely to lose weight, compared to those whose physicians used a more judgmental or confrontational style of communication.Patients whose physicians communicated well lost about 3.5 pounds three months after the visit.Excellent study: first of its kind to examine specifically Physicians' communication style, and its affect on patients' weight loss.Possible study flaws: communication styles aren't always directly definable and hence there is room for interpretation. Another potential flaw is that Doctors were recorded. While they didn't know why, it may cause them to be more vigilant in addressing issues thoroughly.Physicians are an important cog in the wheel of overall health. They are the front-line practitioners and as such, they can have enormous influence on the success of patients' efforts to lose weight and improve health.Counselling training would certainly help physicians communicate effectively and "get through" to their patients. At the same time, doctors tend not to have much in the way of formal education in nutrition, exercise science and specifics of how to lose fat. You have to know the right information before you learn how to deliver it.

In the end, I think the patient is best served by a physician who is both empathetic, but also honest and to the point. I also think that in addition to counsellor training and more extensive education in nutrition, MD's should work closely with other health professionals, who specialize in fat loss and nutrition.

Image Credit #1: Playtime Magazine
Image Credit #2: Actuzap

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Hey Man, Do You Work in a Restaurant?

A funny thing happened to me a while ago. For some reason it just now dawned on me to blog about. Sorry, I'm slow.

At the time, I had switched Yoga studios. I like a vigorous practice and my old studio cut back on classes. Now, as luck would have it, my new studio is two doors down from a farmers market, which is win-win for me.

So I was shopping there every week, and typically I bought a lot of fruits and vegetables, especially fresh greens, like broccoli and spinach. I'm mostly vegetarian, so I plow through a lot of vegetation every week.

I was standing in line that day waiting to pay and when it was my turn, the cashier, who I see every week and never makes small talk, asked me, "Do you work in a restaurant? Because you always buy a lot of stuff."

Now, I'm a social misfit, so I just smirked. I guess a short Italian guy buying huge bunches of produce every week does look like a restaurant owner, especially in New Jersey, the land of delis.

I told her no, and explained that I eat a vegetable-based diet and that I don't eat meat. She wanted to know if I was a vegetarian. I said, "Kind of." And told her my diet is mostly fruits and vegetables and the only animal I eat is fish.

The cashier seemed to get it, but not really. She's Mexican, so she was probably thinking, "Stupid gringo is missing out on good tacos and burritos."

She might be right, but I admit, one little dude buying that much fruits and vegetables each week is unusual. She must have thought I was some sort of human-cow hybrid. And in her mind it might be easier just to eat some carne asada every once and a while.

Trust me, I understand that. I'm 100% Italian, my family is over-the-boat Italian - NOT guido Italian - and so they still look at me funny when I don't eat meatballs or cheese.

So, if you're veg too, has anything like this ever happened to you? Do you go grocery shopping and get mistaken for a sous-chef?

Image credit: No Cookie

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