Nearly everyone is on drugs

More people are taking prescription drugs than ever before! Drugs are used by:

• Almost two-thirds of women 20 and older
• One in four children and teenagers
• 52 percent of adult men
• Three out of four people 65 or older

In addition, there has been increased medication use for chronic problems in all demographic groups. Among seniors, 28 percent of women and nearly 22 percent of men take five or more medications regularly.

Heart disease and diabetes are the most frequent reasons for taking meds, with obesity being a common etiologic factor for these disease states. The drugs that are used most frequently are those that treat high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

The largest gains, in chronic medication use, were in the 20 to 44-year-old age group, where drug use rose 20 percent over the last six years. This was mainly due to more use of drugs for depression, diabetes, asthma, attention deficit disorder and seizure disorders.

Choosing between cheap drugs and a thin waist

Dr. Benjamin Brewer notes the difficulty of weight gain associated with medication for diabetes, since obesity is often a risk factor for diabetes. The less-expensive drugs (ones like glipizide, which you can get at Wal-Mart for $4 a month) are the most likely to cause weight gain, while the more expensive drugs like Byetta may actually help people lose weight.

Other generic drugs that don’t cause weight gain might not be powerful enough to treat the blood sugar problem, he writes. And even people on some of the more expensive drugs, such as Actos and Avandia, may still end up gaining weight on their bodies as they lose weight from their wallets.

Slimming Down at the Pharmacy

Tourists in France have, for the most part, already heard that the French are relatively unembarrassed by the naked human form. So, when in France, we’re rarely shocked by topless sunbathers or by a nipple showing in a fashion magazine. We are however, often thrown for a loop when we pass the pharmacies that line French streets.

It seems that in almost every pharmacy’s window there are borderline erotic images of undressed women. A profile view of a thin, nude woman shown from breast to knee or a zoomed in image of a flat tummy with strategically placed shadows just below, keeping the ad PG-13, is a common scene. Then there’s the ever-popular set of two firm butt cheeks on display for passersby.

Diet Pills won’t make weight loss any easier

Pharmacists explain that these products can make it easier to deal with hunger and can help your body burn fat, but they’re all supposed to be used in concert with a healthy diet and exercise. No one’s going to lose 10 kilograms solely from taking a pill every day. Then they told me candidly, “Mostly we carry weight-loss products because they’re in demand. But we only have two or three over there, because they’re all pretty much the same. There’s no need to fill the shelves with 40 different weight-loss packages.”

So what’s with the naked ladies in the window? “Oh, we don’t have those ads in the window all the time! It’s just because it’s spring and people are starting to think about trying to fit into their bikini.” So, even if French pharmacies won’t stoop to selling cigarettes to make a buck, they’re still capitalist enterprises. And they’re not beyond displaying a model’s naked butt to encourage you to hop in and pick up a 20 or 30 Euro box of pills that could help you lose weight, as long as you diet and exercise as well.

Which Diet Pills Really Work?

With summer here, many of my friends have been talking about one thing: losing weight. As we started talking about all the different diet plans out there, one friend asked, "Why diet, when you can just pop a diet pill?" Is it really that easy? Being completely naive about diet pills and diet supplements, I decided to pull a list of the top searched diet pills to find out what all the hype was about.

I can see why Alli made it to the top of the list. According to their customer testimonials, this pill, along with diet and exercise, can increase weight loss up to 50 percent. However, Alli is known to have some nasty side effects as well. According to their website, you will pass something "that looks like the oil on top of a pizza" out your body. Are the benefits worth the costs?

Did you know phentermine received FDA approval back in 1959? It's still the top searched diet pill today. It's strange to think people have been using phentermine for so long.

I have to say, I'm a little skeptical of all these miracle pills and I wonder if they really lead to healthy weight loss. There are so many diet pills that out there that I question how safe they really are. Some of these diet pills I have actually heard of like Hoodia and Hydroxycut. But what exactly are Meridia and Lipovox?

Dieting is hard! Quick diets don't help you lose weight long term and exercise regimens are hard to stick to. Maybe diet pills really are the best way how to lose weight effectively.

Yes, popping a diet pill does sound much easier than counting your calories or exercising, but do they really work? Have you tried any of these diet pills? And if so, what worked for you? Try searching for diet pills on AOL Search. Or, if diet pills aren't your thing, you can check out AOL Body for weight loss tips.