People should be free to spend their money as they wish

doi:10.1136/bmj.39435.502801.3A

BMJ 2008;336:7 (5 January), doi:10.1136/bmj.39435.502801.3A

Letters

Orlistat over the counter

People should be free to spend their money as they wish

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Williams’s analysis "at first glance" is correct—orlistatworks and is safe, and people should be free to spend theirmoney as they wish.¹ His subsequent caveats have no merit.

It is true that that users may see less benefit than the hopedfor loss of 10% of their weight, that they may abandon the drugaltogether, or avoid it when about to eat fish and chips. Thatis their choice and their problem. The medical profession doesn’thave a monopoly of knowledge about the input-output logic ofweight control—most people, even we fat people, can read,and we are all bombarded on a daily basis with messages aboutexercise and other forms of "lifestyle modification."

Removing 100 kcal per day from the equation is not irrelevant.Many people become overweight, not because they binge on sixhamburgers a day and eat ice cream in the middle of the night,but . . . [Full text of this article]

Caroline Mozley, head

¹ North Yorks R&D Alliance, York Hospital, York YO31 8HE

caroline.mozley@york.nhs.uk