What Kind of Drug Is It?

Prescription diet pills are stimulants—substances that increase the activity of a living organism or one of its parts. Diet pills that can only be prescribed by physicians fall into one of two categories: 1) appetite suppressants; or 2) lipase inhibitors. Lipase is a substance that speeds up the breakdown of fats in the body.

Appetite suppressants, also known as ANORECTICS, decrease feelings of hunger. These drugs were created to replace AMPHETAMINES, which proved to be an extremely dangerous method of weight control. (A separate entry on amphetamines is included in this encyclopedia.) Lipase inhibitors work by keeping fats from being absorbed in the digestive tract.

Note to the Reader

This entry deals specifically with diet pills that were being prescribed by physicians for weight control as of 2005.

Generations of people attempting to lose weight have tried nonprescription remedies to achieve their...