Students turn to diet pills as quick weight fix

    Quick fix diet pills are all the rage with GCSU students trying to stay fit and have become their newest weapon of choice when battling the desire to be skinnier.
    According to the University of Minnesota’s Project EAT, researchers found that 62.7 percent of teenage females use “unhealthy weight control behaviors” such as diet pills to ditch a few extra pounds. 
    GCSU’s campus is no different. Whether it is the lack of motivation to exercise or the impossible search for healthy college snacks, students seem to gravitate towards pills as their speedy solution.
    “A lot of my friends, mostly girls, talk about taking (diet pills),” said Adam Gray, an employee at General Nutrition Center and a GCSU student.
    Gray said although few students frequent the local GNC, that does not mean they do not use this method. 
    Some popular diet pills are Hydroxycut, SlimQuick, Zantrex 3, and Lipo 6.
    These over the counter diet pills have some very serious side effects. To make this rapid weight loss plan effective, most use appetite suppression. 
    Diet pills affect the division of the nervous system that controls adrenaline production. This puts the user in a heightened state of constant awareness or nervousness. 
    Dr. Sheree Barron, a psychology professor, said that the major ingredient is very similar to amphetamines or speed. 
    “If a person takes those, they probably have a lot of energy,” Barron said. “And when they have to go back to normal, they sink below that.”
    Sophomore Anne Jones tried using one of these over the counter diet pills, Zantrex 3, and experienced some of these same symptoms.
    “I about had a heart attack,” Jones said.
    Jones had ingested a massive quantity of caffeine. Each of the Zantrex 3 pills were equal to five cups of coffee, which quickly lead to “uncontrollable shaking.” 
    The side effects Jones experienced were overwhelming and made her feel out of control.
    “Diet pills were meant for people that needed to lose large amounts of weight, not for people trying to shed a few pounds,” Jones said.
    Even with that knowledge, Jones insists she would still turn to the pills as a last resort.
    Students, like Jones, may not even look at the warning on the bottle.  Some of the diet pills recommend not drinking coffee, Gray said, but students don’t usually pay attention to seemingly minor directions.
    Barron said students think they are invincible.
    “They think (over the counter diet pills) won’t do me any harm, but even un-prescribed drugs can do harm,” said Barron. 
    So, why do students turn to the more dangerous choices rather than the new FDA approved Alli?
    “Students don’t come in looking for Alli,” said Gray. 
     Andrew Deneen, a GCSU student,  thinks he knows why.
    “(Alli) is advertised as a lifestyle change,” Deneen said. “College students are looking for a fast but cheap solution to their problems.”
    Without changing eating habits or getting active, students will fall to this quick fix once again. Instead of turning towards a harmful solution like diet pills, there are other ways of staying fit and healthy. 
    “Being careful with what you eat is probably the best (way to lose weight),” Barron said. 

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 21 2007. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry