THE history of diet drugs is littered with disappointments. One product after another has been launched with great fanfare, only for their limited effectiveness 鈥� and sometimes severe side effects 鈥� to surface later on.
So it is a breath of fresh air to see an obesity treatment working better than expected. The treatment is not a drug, but a surgery called gastric bypass. Even though it forces people to drastically cut down on food, somehow they are not left ravenously hungry (see 鈥淟essons in longevity鈥�).
Now researchers are trying to develop drugs that blunt appetite in the same way without the risks of surgery. If they succeed, expect more fanfare about a miracle pill. Hype usually unravels, of course, but for the sake of millions of lives blighted by obesity let us hope this time it is justified.
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