# Who needs these pills? Stupid fat people! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 12, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-these-pills-stupid-fat-people/239623 "2004-04-12T16:39:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-these-pills-stupid-fat-people/239623/41 "2005-01-30T23:49:07Z")
> [@Lynn Bodoni](#): > > Even though this IS a zombie thread, the rant remains valid, as the stupid commercial is still playing. So I’m going to leave it open for now, as long as the thread doesn’t start demanding brains to eat. Well, it is a thread about dieting and weight loss… What if it starts demanding bran? ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-these-pills-stupid-fat-people/239623/42 "2005-01-30T23:56:47Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Aaauuugh! Zombie! [Shiny Happy Infomercial Chick]But, thanks to the wonder drug Leptoprin, a skinnier, healthier zombie![/Shiny Happy Infomercial Chick] ---
**Author:** ![Jurhael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@Jurhael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurhael)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-these-pills-stupid-fat-people/239623/43 "2005-01-31T00:55:33Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ll be the first to admit that lifestyle is not the one and only component of health, but nor is it fixed in your stars. This is pretty much how I see it. Some people DO have a genetic predisposition to be a bit on the chubby side, which gives them a disadvantage, but that doesn’t automatically mean that they WILL be overweight no matter what. If someone is willing to shell out cash for pills, more power to them. Whatever. I wouldn’t do that, unless those pills were perscribed by a doctor. I just can’t get worked out about something like this. I guess it’s because I don’t give a shit if someone’s fat or not. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-these-pills-stupid-fat-people/239623/44 "2005-01-31T01:27:21Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > What if it starts demanding bran? _Graiiiiinss… Graaaaaiinnnnsss…_ Lob some Special K at it and then back the fuck away. When a creature whose diet consisted primarily of brains suddenly switches to high fiber, and has a decomposing colon, you do _not_ want to be close by when that stuff gets digested. ---
**Author:** ![fruitbat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fruitbat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fruitbat)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-these-pills-stupid-fat-people/239623/45 "2005-01-31T03:12:06Z")
I just saw the Leptropin bitch today, she can go straight to hell along with Greg Cynamon. The worst though was a radio advertisement for TrimSpa. It was played on the Howard Stern show for months. The tagline went something like, “It has three US patents, that means the government has certified it works!”. I do believe they were fined and forced to take that one off the air. On an only somewhat related topic, there is an ad for Avacor, a hair loss treatment. At the end of the commercial they make the claim that it is approved by the FDA to treat hair loss. I am highly dubious, but I am not sure how I would know one way or the other. Anyone have any idea? ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-these-pills-stupid-fat-people/239623/46 "2005-01-31T03:44:51Z")
> [@Futile Gesture](#): > > Fat people come from fat families because they inherit bad eating habits. > > Not true. If you consume more calories than you expend you will become fat just like anyone else. Otherwise you would be a physical miracle and breaking so many laws of science I wouldn’t know where to start listing them. I probably eat more than most folks here, but I guess I have a faster metabolism. I scarf donuts at work, big lunch, fair sized supper, soda, cookies, the works. ---
**Author:** ![Frankenbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c0e974/32.png) [@Frankenbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frankenbear)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-these-pills-stupid-fat-people/239623/47 "2005-01-31T04:02:30Z")
> [@fruitbat](#): > > On an only somewhat related topic, there is an ad for Avacor, a hair loss treatment. At the end of the commercial they make the claim that it is approved by the FDA to treat hair loss. I am highly dubious, but I am not sure how I would know one way or the other. Anyone have any idea? I went to the FDA’s website and found [this](http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/g3938d.htm). What I hate about these weight loss pills is how much they prey upon people with low self-esteem. I can easily see my sister, who has very little self-esteem, buying something like this if she could afford it. She has a very bad body image and she allows that to prevent her from doing things (like going to a gym) that could change it. She also is the type who wants results immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-these-pills-stupid-fat-people/239623/48 "2005-01-31T04:27:42Z")
> [@](#): > > **Green Bean** : IF THEY INVENTED A DIET PILL THAT REALLY WORKED SO WELL, IT WOULD BE ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES, NOT IN THE BACK PAGES OF THE ENQUIRER!!! There is a perscription medication which has been _really_ helpful to me. It’s called Topamax. (I think women in their childbearing years are given Zonegran instead.) It is helpful in controlling compulsive behaviors and works for me because I am a compulsive eater. I’ve noticed that my smoking has been cut in half too. The weight loss is slow but steady – a pound or two a month. But that’s the way that I put it on. I’ve also stopped my compulsive shopping. I’m still working on the urge to suck the buttons off other people’s sweaters though. ---
**Author:** ![meara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@meara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meara)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-these-pills-stupid-fat-people/239623/49 "2005-01-31T05:48:39Z")
> [@Futile Gesture](#): > > Fat people come from fat families because they inherit bad eating habits. > > Not true. If you consume more calories than you expend you will become fat just like anyone else. Otherwise you would be a physical miracle and breaking so many laws of science I wouldn’t know where to start listing them. I agree in general, but I’m not sure it’s quite so black and white. What if some bodies prefer to respond to excess calories by getting “wired”, fidgety, etc, while other bodies prefer to convert that excess to fat and get sluggish? What if people have different sensitivities to appetite the same way they have different sensitivities to pain? I guess this puts me in the nature + nurture camp. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-these-pills-stupid-fat-people/239623/50 "2005-01-31T06:43:04Z")
Those are my choices!? Fat and unhealthy; or thin and out of my mind on speed?! Sheesh. Making a life’s work out of slapping idoits like that would be fun. Time to go shop for brass knuckles ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-these-pills-stupid-fat-people/239623/51 "2005-01-31T16:25:01Z")
[TV Personality Voice] Nothing says “I look great!” like heart palpitations and anal leakage! [/TV Personality Voice] ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-these-pills-stupid-fat-people/239623/52 "2005-01-31T17:20:53Z")
Zombie thread! Run away! ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-these-pills-stupid-fat-people/239623/53 "2005-01-31T17:23:18Z")
::sigh:: Day late and a dollar short. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-these-pills-stupid-fat-people/239623/54 "2005-01-31T22:00:23Z")
**Zoe** , I mentioned Topamax to my doc (psych.) after reading your mention of it elsewhere on the boards and he doesn’t recommend it because it dopes you up?? Is that your experience? Speaking of increasing obesity in the last 30 years, finally there are studies being done on the link between that trend and the trend of smoking cessation. Might as well enjoy the cigarettes if the alternative is to be miserable and dangerously overweight. Trading in one unhealthiness for another. And yep, anorexia means wihtout appetite; anorexia nervosa is not having an appetite for psychological reasons. Anorex makes sense since caffeine (and probably speed too) does supress the appetite. ---
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-these-pills-stupid-fat-people/239623/55 "2005-02-01T05:33:05Z")
Zombie? I thought you were referring to the LeptoChick’s eyes–they’re freaky, man, freaky. Who cares if the thread’s 9 months old? ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-these-pills-stupid-fat-people/239623/56 "2005-02-01T11:02:34Z")
> [@SolGrundy](#): > > _Graiiiiinss… Graaaaaiinnnnsss…_ Awesome 🆒😃 😃 I’m sorry to anyone who thinks I wrongly resurrected or hijacked this thread, and thanks to **Lynn** , and everyone else for not running, afraid for their brains… 😉 In all honesty the nature vs nurture fat thing has been done enough, though. My quarrel is really with the despicable marketing tactics, and the obvious gullibility of the public. And if it’s not improper to toss a GQ into the pit (like a hand grenade), I’d still like an answer to which president deregulated “dietary supplements” in the US. Was he the same guy that made it legal to brew your own beer? Because then it would be much easier to forgive him. 😉 I don’t think these pills or commercials should be banned, but at this point I think we should try to somehow try to limit what the companies say in their commercials. If even only for “medical type products” (/jerry lewis), I think they should have to substantiate their claims and not hide behind the classic, _“Our bogus claims have not even been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration”_ ---
**Author:** ![Yamirskoonir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/c0e974/32.png) [@Yamirskoonir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yamirskoonir)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-these-pills-stupid-fat-people/239623/57 "2005-02-01T16:23:24Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > And yep, anorexia means wihtout appetite; anorexia nervosa is not having an appetite for psychological reasons. Anorex makes sense since caffeine (and probably speed too) does supress the appetite. I hear that heroin makes you lose a lot of weight… :dubious: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-these-pills-stupid-fat-people/239623.md?page=2)