Dorothy FarrarAnorectics
Anorectics (appetite suppressants) are aids to reduce appetite. This should make it easier for the user to lose weight effectively.
What are anorectics?
Anorectics are drugs and medical aids that are supposed to inhibit people’s appetite and cause them to eat less. They are an aid to weight loss and are based on the assumption that the overweight is caused by excessive food intake. As a result, the stomach widens over time and can absorb more and more food, which it also demands – without the body needing the energy of so much food at all.
Appetite suppressants are usually taken as medication at the beginning. Subsequently, mechanical appetite suppressants can be used, for example in the form of the surgically inserted gastric balloon. Each appetite suppressant is intended only for temporary therapeutic use until the patient has lost weight and the stomach volume has decreased according to the new amount of food. An appetite suppressant does not take into account that obesity can also depend on psychosocial factors and the type of diet, which is why it often does not solve the holistic problem as the sole treatment of obesity.
Effect and medical application
An appetite suppressant can decrease excessive appetite either medicamentously or mechanically. Appetite suppressants to be taken orally already start with plant active ingredients that can have an appetite-suppressing effect. These include peppermint, ginger, apples and protein-rich foods such as lentils or chicken eggs. For a seriously overweight person, however, this is not enough. Drug appetite suppressants act on the appetite center of the brain, some stimulate the release of happiness hormones. This gives the patient the impression of being full of less food earlier than before.
Some appetite suppressants have an additional stimulating effect. Appetite suppressants, which have since been withdrawn from the market, even increased the body’s energy consumption, so that this also had a weight loss effect. Colloquially, drugs are also referred to as appetite suppressants, which bind calories, fat and carbohydrates of food, although they do not affect the appetite at all and thus act quite differently from them. One of the far rarer mechanical appetite suppressants is, for example, the gastric balloon, which takes up space in the stomach and causes less food to be ingested.
Shapes and groups
One of the best-known appetite suppressants was the active ingredient sibutramine, which was sold under several trade names, worked by increasing energy consumption and reducing appetite. However, the drug known as Reductil® had such great side effects that it is no longer available today. Other active ingredients in appetite suppressants are ephedrine, norephedrine, rimonabant or fenfluramine. While most of them act on the appetite center in the brain, others also ensure the release of happiness hormones.
Dosage
A drug appetite suppressant would have to be taken long-term in order to have a long-term effect. However, the effect of appetite suppressants diminishes over time due to a habituation effect and the side effects that occur with almost every drug product should be considered. During the intake period, appetite suppressants are taken before eating, so that appetite is still present, but no longer on a large scale. As a result, it can be cooked in recommended portion sizes for weight loss and the appetite is satisfied afterwards. Furthermore, an appetite suppressant can be taken outside of meals if appetite arises. With long-term use, almost every appetite suppressant has the risk of severe to life-threatening side effects, and they would then be ineffective.
Plant-based, natural and pharmaceutical alternatives
There are a number of herbal and natural alternatives to medicinal and mechanical appetite suppressants. However, these have only a weak effect and are unlikely to help an obese patient reduce portions. Far better would be a change of diet after a thorough analysis of the previous eating habits. A nutritionist or dietician can explain to obese patients how to eat more natural and less calorie-rich, but nutrient-rich, because this is usually the problem of obesity.
This should be accompanied by a sports and fitness program aimed at obese patients with gentle exercises at the beginning of therapy. Such an alternative to the appetite suppressant is neither hazardous to health nor effective in the short term, it rather represents a permanent change and can fight obesity gently, but permanently. If the patient wants a drug solution, preparations that bind fat and calories in the food come into question.
Interactions and side effects
Many appetite suppressants quickly became known for their strong and severe side effects. First, it came to light that they can cause depression because they affect happiness hormones and their receptors. In the long term, kidney damage up to and including renal insufficiency and comparably serious cardiovascular disorders have been reported. In individual cases, the consumption of appetite suppressants, which were still available without a prescription at the time, even resulted in death, even if these were rather the exception.
Permanent damage, which ended for the patient in dialysis or serious heart surgery, was quite common with some appetite suppressants. Some appetite suppressants can also be addictive. In competitive sports, they are considered to be doping agents, among other things, and if detected, they can lead to the exclusion of an athlete from the competition. Furthermore, appetite suppressants proved to be ineffective in the long term. Over time, their effect wears off, you get used to it and the patient has the same appetite as before. Therefore, instead of appetite suppressants, a change in diet with a sports program and alternative drugs that bind fat and calories are recommended nowadays.
Hello and welcome to my Health Guide & Encyclopedia! My name is Dorothy Farrar, and I'm the founder and main author of this platform.
My passion for health and wellness started at a young age when I became interested in the connection between the food we eat and the way we feel. This fascination led me to study nutrition and dietetics in college, where I learned about the importance of a balanced diet and the impact of various nutrients on the body.