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) The wider implications of GSK's weight loss petition
"The specific issue at the moment is weight loss. The larger issue is what is a disease?" said Loren Israelsen, executive director of the United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA), a trade association for the supplement industry.Disease definition"The definition of disease establishes the boundary line of market opportunities," he told NutraIngredients-USA.com.The petition could therefore open up a larger can of worms, as the overall definition of a 'disease' hangs in the balance."This extends far beyond current understanding of the definition of disease, and would have ramifications for many other product categories within the supplement industry," said Israelsen.The American Botanical Council expressed similar ideas."Many in the natural health and natural products community have already expressed their concerns that this petition is a disturbing trend," said Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director."They ask, what condition might be next? For example, with type 2 diabetes being so prevalent, many herbs and other supplements are being researched and promoted to help with glycemic control. More>> - (
) Commodities weigh on Europe stocks; Postbank rises
LONDON - European stocks fell early on Friday, hit by losses in commodities, as oil traded below recent record highs and investors worried about regulatory scrutiny for a big acquisition in the mining sector.But Deutsche Postbank and its owner, Deutsche Post, gained on reports that Commerzbank and Allianz were planning a joint bid for Postbank.
At 0833 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 benchmark was down 0.8 percent at 1,335.87 points, led lower by miners Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, which fell more than 2 percent on worries that BHP's bid for Rio would run into regulatory trouble. Index-heavyweight oil stocks BP, Shell and Total fell 0.5-1.4 percent, as oil traded well shy of its record above $135 a barrel, though it resumed its relentless rise and added $1 to trade near $132. More>> - (
) Alli and the weight loss drug market
The doors could be wide open for additional growth of the only FDA-approved over-the-counter product in light of the general underachievement of the weight loss drug category. However, one of the major obstacles standing in its way are dietary supplements, which currently snatch up some of alli's potential market share. GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) recent petition to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which requests all weight loss claims be considered drug claims, could eliminate this competition.As part of a series on the GSK petition and its impact on the US dietary supplements industry, NutraIngredients-USA.com here examines the state of the market for weight loss drugs.Underachievement for drugsAccording to a report published yesterday by Edison Investment Research, an equity research firm, the market for weight loss drugs has until now been stunted because of the side effects or limited efficacy of most products."Although prescription pharmaceuticals for treating obesity have been available for most of the 20th century, their development has been beset with problems. More>> - (
) STOP Obesity Alliance Announces New Research Indicating That Employers Want to Address Obesity in the Workplace, Need ...
Employers and employees agree: The workplace is an appropriate setting for responding to weight management issues, according to new research by the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance and the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago.Lead NORC researchers said the survey findings demonstrate willingness to and a desire for help. Across the board, all employees -- including people who are average weight, overweight, and people who are obese -- exhibited a strong desire for weight management help from their employers. They also indicated a willingness to pay more for various workplace weight-loss options, including exercise programs, nutritional counseling and other means. Employers also acknowledged their role in providing obesity prevention and management options for their employees. More>>
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) Alli: controversial new diet pill
America is a country seemingly fixated with two conflicting ideas: eating and being thin. While Americans are encouraged by advertisements to eat out, the media presents those same consumers with a thin ideal of beauty. With such conflicting messages, it's easy to see why so many Americans turn to diet pills. Dieting Americans now have a new option: Alli, the first ever dietary weight loss supplement that has been approved by the FDA for over the counter use. Alli is different from other diet pills in that it works to prevent the body from absorbing fat that is consumed. Many believe that this idea is revolutionary because fat contains double the amount of calories as carbohydrates or protein. GlaxoSmithKline, the makers of Alli claim that the pill, along with exercise and a diet that is low in calories and fat, can help people increase the amount of weight that they lose by about fifty percent more than diet and exercise alone. More>> - (
) Vitamin D Gets Its Day In The Sun
Vitamin D is receiving its "day in the sun" recently as a result of conflicting scientific reports and inconsistent recommendations from health agencies about the health benefits of vitamin D. There are also discussions about the dietary requirement to support health benefits and the best sources of the nutrient for humans. Consumers and health professionals are confused! To shed light on the issues, Dietitians of Canada (DC) has released a review document that focuses on vitamin D recommendations to promote bone health from pregnancy to the senior years. It also addresses more recent research regarding non-bone functions of vitamin D, including prevention of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and type 1 and type-2 diabetes.
"At present it is difficult to reach consensus on vitamin D recommendations that reflect all known and newly proposed functions," explains Stephanie A. More>>