For whatever reason, many people want to be skinnier, and often this is good. Losing weight is good and can be very beneficial to your health. In today’s world, however, it seems that there are always new ways of losing weight. A big thing now is various types of diet pills. Are these a good or bad idea to take?

According to this website, “A few pills, especially the newer prescription varieties (such as Meridia and Xenical), have been shown in clinical studies to help dieters shed a few pounds. But the majority of the ads you see on the Internet and TV are for products that are unregulated, untested and unproven.” This is very scary, because as we know, doctors often cause more trouble because they don’t look into the science of the medicine well enough. If they’re untested and unregulated, that means we really have no idea if 1. they will work and 2. if they will have negative side effects.

So when are diet pills recommended to be used? They clearly are not for everyone. This Health Guidance article talks about who should and shouldn’t take diet pills. It says that people with a body mass index (BMI) of 27 or higher, it may be a good way to lose weight, but for everyone else the cons outweigh the pros. This is a BMI calculator that can help you calculate what your specific BMI is.

THIS website, that I linked before, says that the pills have been “associated with raised heart rate, raised blood pressure and heart failure.” Side effects are a factor with every medication, so it makes sense that you should check with your doctor before just calling the number on the tv and ordering the diet pills.