The most popular and commonly prescribed diet medicines are Xenical and Reductil

The government of the UK has reported that the number of prescriptions given for drugs to treat and control obesity has gone over the 1 million figure for the first time ever. They also reported that over the past seven years the number of individuals given prescriptions for weight loss has increased eight times. The figures show that 1,060,000 individuals received prescription weight loss medication in 2006 compared to only 127,000 in the year 1999. The figures were released as a section of the Health Survey for England 2006. The most popular and commonly prescribed diet medications are Xenical and Reductil which work in different ways and therefore are suitable for different people.

Health experts have criticised the fact that so many individuals are using these weight loss medications and say that they use expose an underlying problem with obesity and eating patterns all over the United Kingdom. They warned that weight loss medication are only a short term fix to what is essentially a long term problem. You cannot take weight loss medication for the rest of your years and if you are serious about losing weight you should make a serious effort to change your diet and get exercise of some sort.

On the other side of the argument however it must be remembered that weight loss medications can greatly assist and help to motivate people who are in dire need of losing weight. Reductil for example can control the hunger pangs that dieters are plagued with and Xenical cuts out a proportion of the fat in the diet speeding up weight loss. It should be remembered that people who have a little bit of success with a diet are likely to continue with it and these weight loss drugs can give them that extra boost and motivation to continue eating less and exercising more.

The government of the United Kingdom however must realise that weight loss drugs are not a cure to the overall obesity problem and that controls on unhealthy food, education campaigns which underline the importance of healthy eating and exercise will be far more effective than the promotion of weight loss medication.