Source: Reuters
Pubdate: Mon, 31 Aug 1998
Author: Irwin Arieff

EXPERTS SAY FAT RIVALS SMOKING AS HEALTH THREAT

PARIS, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Medical experts warned on
Monday that obesity was rapidly becoming a problem in the developing
world as well as industrialised nations and could one day rival
smoking in its impact on public health.

``This is a pandemic, probably one of the top five public health
problems in the world. Scientists are already beginning to wonder
whether it will be worse than smoking,'' Dr Philip James told
reporters at the start of the Eighth International Congress on
Obesity, which began on Monday in Paris.

James, who heads a task force for the International Association for
the Study of Obesity, and other scientists said there was considerable
hope that new drugs would soon be coming on line to help fat people
lose weight and stay fit.

Until then, they said, public health officials in India and the South
Pacific as well as the United States and Australia should begin to
modify eating behaviour in both children and adults.

``If we wait, in 10 to 20 years from now it really looks like we are
going to have a catastrophe on our hands,'' said James, who is also
director of the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland, and
head of a United Nations commission on nutrition.

``We are emphasising the need to begin tackling the problem earlier,
to deal with childhood weight problems and to completely rethink the
way we approach physical activity and diet to ensure a healthy, active
lifestyle,'' said Dr Stephen Rossner of Stockholm's Karolinska Institute.

Rossner dismissed the stereotype of the jolly overweight person,
saying research has found that obese individuals generally are
financially less well off and have a lower quality of life than
thinner people.

``We can't rule out that there are happy fat people. But the evidence
is against it,'' he said.

Organisers of the four-day conference said the outlook was not all
gloom and doom.

They were particularly optimistic about a new drug called orlistat
that has been found in clinical trials to promote weight loss by
reducing the body's absorption of dietary fat.

The drug, to be marketed by Roche Holdings AG under the name Xenical,
is to go on sale in Europe in September and in the United States some
time next year.

U.S. approval was delayed when health officials requested additional
research on data hinting at a possible link between orlistat and
breast cancer.

While orlistat has undergone extensive testing in humans, the medical
experts cautioned consumers against relying on the many untested
over-the-counter drugs that claim to help weight loss.

``There is a great desire for weight-loss drugs as everyone is tired
of the 'eat less, exercise more' approach. But there are so many
fraudulent products and so many gullible people,'' Rossner said.

``I always tell my patients: 'You use them at your own risk because
there is no data demonstrating effectiveness and they may not be
safe','' said Dr George Bray, president of the International
Association for the Study of Obesity.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry