Taking advantage of the desire to lose weight quickly, especially after Tet, many places launch weight loss products and treatments labeled "miracle speed".
Rapid weight loss products are being sold widely on social networking sites, posing potential health risks - Photo: TH captured
From weight loss effervescent tablets, lozenges, pills, to new generation weight loss technologies that help "eliminate" excess fat quickly without exercise or diet, many patients have to be hospitalized due to kidney failure and liver failure.
The truth behind the miracle weight loss method
Lose weight without dieting or exercising? To reach customers who want to lose weight, many products have been launched such as: lozenges, coffee, effervescent tablets, pills... which are said to have miraculous weight loss effects and are posted all over social networking sites. Notably, these products are very cheap, ranging from a few tens of thousands of dong to a few hundred thousand dong.
On a page called "Weight loss effervescent tablets" sells "Super fast, super effective weight loss pills that destroy hard fat tissue" with the advertisement "lose 8-10kg in 1 month as easy as eating candy without dieting". Below the article is a picture of 4 bags of medicine with all kinds of blue, orange, yellow, purple capsules of unknown origin, used for taking in the morning, noon and evening.
Another site called "Weight Loss Pills" sells bottles of foreign-language pills, capsules containing about 40 pills. According to the advertisement, these pills are for people who want to lose weight but do not want to exercise or diet.
Taking one pill every day continuously can help you lose 10kg per month. "This is a hand-carried medicine, domestic weight loss medicines are not effective" - the page advertises, then offers a price of 330,000 VND/box, delivered to your home.
In the group "5kg/12 days rapid weight loss" attracting more than 56,000 members, every day there are dozens of articles sharing ways to lose weight with medicine, weight loss tea, weight loss coffee...
Many people brag about using a type of pineapple candy for weight loss that contains pineapple essence, lotus leaves, bitter melon, vằng tea, ginseng, and cocoa. However, this type of candy was previously warned and recalled by the Food Safety Department (Ministry of Health) because it contained banned substances such as sibutramine and phenolphthalein.
Many patients have been hospitalized for liver and kidney failure due to taking weight loss pills. Bach Mai Hospital previously admitted a patient in Quang Ninh who had to have his entire esophagus and stomach removed due to taking weight loss pills.
This patient was introduced to a very effective weight loss drug by a friend. However, after using the 4th package, the patient felt short of breath, cold, thirsty; sudden hypothermia and was admitted to the emergency room in a coma, the CT scan results showed brain damage.
According to the forensic examination results of the Institute of Forensic Medicine, the weight loss product that the patient used contained sibutramine, a toxic substance banned by the Ministry of Health from use in pharmaceuticals and functional foods, because of its dangerous effects on the health of users.
Risk from banned substances
Associate Professor Nguyen Anh Tuan - Deputy Director of the Institute of Digestive Surgery, Head of Digestive Science, 108 Central Military Hospital - emphasized that using any type of weight loss product can be harmful to health. Therefore, before using it, you should learn carefully about that product and consult a doctor or nutritionist to ensure health safety.
According to Mr. Tuan, weight loss products often contain sibutramine - a substance that has been banned in many countries, but there are still many products of unknown origin and not quality tested that contain sibutramine or other harmful substances.
"Sibutramine is a weight loss drug that inhibits the feeling of hunger and increases satiety after eating. Using sibutramine can cause many harmful effects to health if used in the wrong amount or for a long time. Some harmful effects of sibutramine include: increased blood pressure, insomnia, anxiety, rapid heart rate, headache, convulsions, nausea, mild vomiting, constipation... and other dangerous complications," said Mr. Tuan.
Doctor Dao Thi Hao - nutritionist, 108 Central Military Hospital - affirms that there is no treatment that helps us lose weight quickly, weight loss pills contain ingredients that make our intestines absorb more water than normal.
"Taking medicine every day creates a feeling of fullness, but this is a false fullness. In fact, taking weight loss pills inhibits the nervous system and causes loss of appetite. If used for too long, people can become addicted," said Dr. Hao.
Doctor CKII Huynh Tan Vu - lecturer of traditional medicine department, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City - said that many liver detoxification products are also sold as weight loss detoxification drugs. However, there is no clinical data proving the effectiveness of these detoxification drugs.
In fact, some dietary supplements can actually harm the liver by causing drug-induced damage, so use with caution. Weight loss depends on many factors, including total calorie intake, food quality, physical activity level, and overall lifestyle.
How to lose weight scientifically and safely?
A balanced and nutritious diet, instead of eating two large meals, divide your meals into three main meals and two snacks, helps maintain stable blood sugar levels, providing steady energy for the body.
In addition, it is necessary to control food portions, reduce food portions appropriately and avoid overeating, especially foods that are high in calories and low in nutrients. Increase physical activity: combine a healthy diet with regular exercise to burn calories and maintain a reasonable weight. Finally, get enough sleep and manage stress. Drink enough water.
Weight loss should be slow and steady.
According to Associate Professor Lam Vinh Nien, head of the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital (HCMC), Tet meals are often rich in starch (banh chung, banh tet...), simple carbohydrates (cakes, candies...), and fat (braised meat with duck eggs, fried foods, jellied meat, banh chung, banh tet fillings...), leading to easy weight gain.
Due to rapid weight gain, many people seek weight loss methods after Tet. However, choosing methods must be scientific and ensure health safety.
Losing weight too quickly can lead to muscle loss, dehydration, decreased metabolism, nutrient deficiencies, gallstones, and other health risks. Weight loss should be slow and steady (about 0.5-1 kg/week).
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/suy-gan-than-vi-muon-giam-can-than-toc-ma-ngai-luyen-tap-dieu-chinh-an-uong-20250211225109675.htm
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