Exercise, Eat Right; It’s The Best Way

Magical cures usually aren’t.

Last week’s recall of the diet drugs sold as Redux and Pondimin, a component of fen-phen, illustrates the fallacy of reaching for answers which glitter too brightly.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration removed the two drugs from the market after studies revealed heart valve damage in 30 percent of 291 patients who had used these diet drugs. The recall means millions of Americans must turn again to an old standby that works - a permanent lifestyle change, featuring regular exercise and a sensible diet.

This development, for many of the patients who begged for these drugs, is no calamity. The drugs, tested and approved for use by the clinically obese, were taken by too many women and men who simply wanted to drop 15 pounds.

Doctors wrote 7 million prescriptions for Pondimin and 2.4 million prescriptions for Redux in 1996. No doubt many doctors prescribed these drugs with caution. Some required a significant period of diet and exercise first. Others, who had a reputation for pushing diet pills, were too eager to prescribe.

The FDA has come under increasing pressure to shorten its testing and approval process for this country’s new prescription drugs. This case points out exactly why thorough testing remains critically important.

When the drugs in question dangle the prospect of life beyond love handles, amazing numbers of people can’t wait to buy. The country is filled with women - and men - dying to be thin. At least three deaths have been linked to the use of Redux and fen-phen.

The FDA cannot count on health care consumers or physicians to use medicines only in ways the agency has sanctioned. Fen-phen, though widely prescribed, is a combination that the FDA never approved.

Already, some diet doctors are debating new alternatives to Redux and fen-phen. Maybe a combination of phentermine, the component of fen-phen which was not recalled, and Prozac will be the next trend. It’s already been dubbed phen-Pro.

Or perhaps it will be an herbal fen-phen alternative. Some patients are taking an untested combination of ephedra, a nonprescription stimulant sold over-the-counter in health food stores that has been linked to heart attacks and deaths, and St. John’s wort, an herbal supplement used to treat mild depression and anxiety.

But the best solution of all, for most of us hoping to lose a few pounds, might be a dose of the old adage “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Then phone the doctor only for diet miracles of the slow and sensible kind.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Jamie Tobias Neely For the editorial board