Summary
Two-thirds of American adults are considered overweight or obese, according to the National Institutes of Health. Obesity puts people at increased risk for life-threatening conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and some types of cancer. Drugs and supplements promising to control weight have been sold for decades, with varying degrees of safety and effectiveness. Today's FDA-approved prescription weight control drugs act by limiting the body's calorie absorption or by altering the levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain to suppress appetite.
Weight Control Drugs, Second Edition explains today's weight crisis and describes the drugs used to control weight, the way they work, the dangers of unregulated weight control supplements, and new drugs under investigation. Dramatic "you-are-there" case studies show how weight control drugs impact real life, and sidebars offer supplementary facts, compelling statistics, and historical information.
Chapters include:
- Weight-Control Drugs and Human Health
- A History of Weight-Control Drugs
- The Obesity Crisis
- The Science of Weight-Control Drugs
- Losing Weight: Exercise, Drugs, and Other Options
- Weight Loss, Society, and the Law
- The Future of Weight-Control Drugs.
About the Author(s)
Richard Worth is the author of more than 50 books, several of them for Facts on File. These include a history of the Los Angeles Police Department and Homicide. He has also written a variety of biographies, histories, and books on current events. Worth received the New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age 2003 award for Gangs and Gang Crime in Chelsea House's Crime, Justice, and Punishment series.
Christine Adamec has authored many books for Chelsea House, including Opium (2017), Amphetamines and Methamphetamine (2022), and numerous other titles that have provided in-depth analyses of pivotal current issues. She has also coauthored books for Facts On File on important topics, including The Encyclopedia of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (2021) and The Encyclopedia of Drug Abuse (2022).