All of them were restricted to a low calorie diet and they were all treating their diabetes with sulfonylurea drugs before the start of the study. Four weeks into the study, the orlistat group was already losing weight faster than the placebo group. After the study was over, the orlistat group had lost about 13 pounds each and the placebo group had lost about 9.5 pounds. Additionally, the orlistat group was able to decrease their sulfonylurea medication significantly more than the placebo group. Forty-three percent of the orlistat group reduced their diabetes medication and 12 percent stopped taking it altogether.
People read or hear about how wonderful orlistat is and how the side effects are minimal.
John Garrow , a Professor of Human Nutrition states that some of these claims may be misleading to people. People think that orlistat will allow obese people to eat whatever they want while continuing to lose weight. This is not true according to Garrow because people who are taking orlistat will react negatively to a high fat intake. That is, they will probably experience some form of gastrointestinal upset. Like any drug, there are side effects associated with taking Orlistat.