We are pleased to see that we were not unique in being skeptical...

Yesterday Ukmedix News reported on a Xenical story which was based on the Food and Drug Administration in the United States recently releasing information showing that 37 cases of gallstones had been reported with people who were using the weight loss drug Xenical. At Ukmedix News following a discussion in the newsroom we decided to report the story for the sake of journalistic integrity but the same time we had serious reservations about the quality of the information and whether it was in fact relevant as a side effect of the diet drug Xenical.

We are pleased to see that we were not unique in being skeptical about the 37 cases of gallstones, in fact Jeff Stier a well respected director from the American Council on Science and Health was fast to point out that the information was of no relevant use and may not be used in any way to quantify the dangers of using Xenical. Like we did at Ukmedix News he noted that no facts were given on the number of people who would normally get gallstones and who were not using Xenical and he also pointed out [something that we missed] that probably hundreds of people who would normally have got gallstones from being obese did not get them as a result of the losing weight through the use of the Xenical weight loss drug.

Jeff Steir accuses Reuters of “shoddy reporting” and said that they should have analyzed the FDA statement with “less alarm” and looked at the whole picture rather then focusing on one fact. For example no information about how many people used in Xenical over the seven year period when the gallstones were reported was given and information about how many overweight and obese people normally get gallstones anyway was also missing.

The Ukmedix News Team prides itself on sifting through the facts and giving you a clear idea of what is relevant and what isn't in the weight loss world.