The Korea Times — Thirty one-year-old Chung goes on a diet every spring through autumn. "I have tried nearly every method. You name it, from simply starving to the Atkins, Danish and all other diet programs," she said.
One thing she tried was a fiber tonic to boost fat burning, which was supposed to give her a slim bodyline within eight weeks. But she gave up within a month.
"I didn't feel so good. It worked in a very different way than I expected. I had a slight stomachache and suffered from nausea, too," she said. "After quitting, I felt okay again. I didn't really pay much attention to what I was eating," she said.
Having an ultra-slim body may be every woman's dream these days, however, the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) warned Wednesday that relying on chemical dietary products to become slimmer in a short period of time could damage their health.
The KFDA surveyed 927 women and 139 men between 15 and 59 who had previously tried Western or Oriental dietary "medicines" to try and slim down. About 66.4 percent, or 708, said they had undergone some harmful side-effects.
Being allowed to give multiple answers, the majority of the respondents (64 percent) experienced the simple "yoyo effect," where their weight increased again as soon as they stopped taking the product or monitoring what they ate.
Fifty-two percent suffered nausea, 40 percent saw increased thirst, 18 percent suffered depression, while 13 percent had menstruation problems.
About 1.7 percent said they had hallucinations and 1.4 percent suffered serious liver damage.
In more in-depth questioning of 861 people, 22 percent said they chose Oriental medicine, followed by 7 percent taking prescribed drugs from their doctors. Some fat-dissolving agent injections, performed by certified plastic surgeons, were also a popular method to lose weight relatively easily and effectively.
However, many of them were not informed of what they were taking. About 60 percent did not know the fact that some of the "obesity-treatment products" contained narcotics. The drug agency said 554 out of 788 prescriptions intended to suppress appetite had some form of narcotic substance as an ingredient.
Those who haven't tried any kind of drugs to lose weight were also ignorant of the issue. "They seemed unaware that the taking of certain Oriental medicines and narcotics should be tightly monitored, as there are high chances of abuse," the KFDA said in a press release.
Source:
The Korea Times. "Weight-loss drugs raise health threat," http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/06/117_68469.html; 29 June 2010.
