It can be hard for individuals to lose weight on their own. Until early 2009 people who wanted to get extra help would have had to approach their doctor for prescription drugs or try alternative weight loss solutions. The launch of Alli as a licensed weight loss program that could be sold by chemists and online pharmacies was seen by many as an alternative that might give them the help they need.
What is Alli and How Does it Work?
Alli capsules are a low dose version of Orlistat (also often known as Xenical), a drug that is commonly prescribed by doctors as a weight loss aid for people who rank on the BMI scale as obese. This drug works by stopping the body from absorbing all of the fat from food. If the body is prevented from doing this then it cannot lay down stores of fat as it would normally do. The fat dealt with by this treatment is then expelled from the body as waste. It is thought that this can help people improve their weight loss by up to 50%.
Who Can and Cannot Take Alli?
Alli is designed to be taken by people aged over 18 whose BMI (Body Mass Index) is 28 or higher. Due to worries that it would be mis-used by people with eating disorders Alli pills are only licensed to be sold by pharmacies, both online and in the high street.