Consumer Reports for Weight Loss Pills

Consumer reports regarding weight loss pills are in general not positive. For the most part, consumer reports have found no evidence that weight loss pills help you lose substantial amounts of weight. Additionally, they have found that many of the ingredients in these weight loss supplements are harmful to your body, causing side effects like high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, seizures, stroke and even death. Overall, consumer reports recommend skipping the pills and losing weight through a good diet and regular exercise instead.

Over-the-Counter

According to Consumer Search, over-the-counter diet pills were found not to have significant effects on weight loss--regardless of brand or ingredients. Most of these weight loss pills contain caffeine and bitter orange, the combination of which most health experts recommend avoiding. Other ingredients in these OTC pills are acai berries and hoodia. Neither of these were found to work either. Health experts say these pills are a waste of money and could potentially lead to health problems as they tax your heart.

Prescription

Slightly better than their OTC cousins, prescription weight loss pills have been seen to promote weight loss though not significantly more than those on merely diet and exercise regimes. The Obese Society found that patients who were on prescription diet pills lost a mere 6 lbs more in a year--half a pound a month--than those who took a placebo. Because these are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, these have gone through clinical trials to test effectiveness. Still, these drugs also have a host of potential side effects such as elevated heart rate and blood pressure.

Warnings

More and more of these drugs are being issued warnings by the Food and Drug Administration for containing potentially harmful ingredients, Consumer Reports says. There are a total of 72 weight-loss products currently on the list.

False Claims

Consumer Reports also found that weight loss pill companies have been advertising false information. According to the Federal Trade Commission, studies done by Xenadrine's (a weight loss pill) manufacturer failed to support their claims and the people who were on placebos actually lost more weight. The FTC has accused even more manufacturers of false advertising including Questral AC and AC Fat Killer Plus, Rapid Loss 245 and Rx, Slim Coffee and Zyladex Plus.