BACKGROUND Despite rising levels of obesity in England, little is known about slimming club and weight loss drug (medication) use or users. In order to inform future commissioning, we report the prevalence of various weight management strategies and examine the associations between slimming club and medication use and age, gender, deprivation and body mass index. METHODS A population based cr...

Introduction Diets and exercise should be the mainstay of management of obesity. Nonetheless, many people put their faith in slimming agents as a quick fix for weight reduction. Their effectiveness appears to be limited as the amount of weight loss is small. The lack of long-term safety data and the occurrence of adverse effects are important consideration. Proprietary slimming products are het...

BACKGROUND Cellulite is a 'cottage cheese-like' cutaneous change caused by subcutaneous fat bulging into the dermis that usually leads to cosmetic problems. Slimming cream containing 3.5% water-soluble caffeine and xanthenes exhibits a lipolytic effect with penetration into the dermis. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy and safety of slimming cream for the treatment of cellulite. METHODS Fi...

For consumers who want to lose weight, using a product claiming to make that weight loss easier may be an attractive option. Herbal products are often perceived as safe because they are ‘natural’. However, these products are not free of risks. Herbal products themselves can be a cause of adverse drug reactions but these products can also be adulterated with active pharmacological ingredients. A...

Anorexia nervosa, a rare illness which occurs predominantly among adolescent girls, usually begins with dieting which gradually gets out of hand.

The pejorative aphorism Obesity is the result of greed and sloth has come to be applied to the fat individual. The inferences implied are widely accepted not only by the public and journalists but by the health-care professional and the nutritional scientist too. Is this justified particularly with respect to sloth? Of course, fat deposition must be the result of excess intake of energy in rela...