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Home » Diet » First new diet pill in 13 years nears FDA approval

For more than a decade, overweight Americans have been looking for a drug what some health professionals sarcastically call "the magic pill" to help in the never-ending battle with the scale.

The federal government next month may give a diet drug that it once rejected for its side effects a shot at becoming that magic pill.

But whether the new drug, called Qnexa, can perform weight loss wizardry depends on your definition of the word "magic."

Is the pill the missing ingredient for people who desperately want to shed weight as much as 10 percent of their body weight but lack the will or ability to lose excess pounds and keep them off? Or is it a temporary and potentially dangerous solution to a problem that really requires a lifestyle change?

One thing is clear: The nearly 30 percent of adults in Pennsylvania and about 36 percent nationwide who are considered obese need something to help them shed the extra pounds that threaten their health.

Linda Shumberger has been struggling with her weight all her life and is enthusiastic about the thought of a drug that could help her lose pounds.

The 48-year-old Center Valley woman's weight went up and stayed up 22 years ago after the birth of her son. She tried everything the Atkins diet, Nutrisystem, grapefruit. "You name the diet, I tried it," she said.

But then she started to lose control of her diabetes. That's when she knew she had to do something about the extra pounds.

"I wanted the band surgery," she said, referring to a procedure in which the stomach is constricted, limiting the amount of food a person can consume and making them feel full sooner. "But my diabetes was out of control."

She took another route. Working with Lehigh Valley Hospital weight loss specialist Harpreet Singh, Shumberger began taking phentermine, a drug that curbs appetite, and following a low-calorie, high-protein diet. She lost about 50 pounds, she said, and would like to lose more.

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First new diet pill in 13 years nears FDA approval

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Home » Diet » First new diet pill in 13 years nears FDA approval