Relying on appetite suppressants could result in a societal attitude more amenable to turning up a sudden prevention, with serious consequences, Verhoef warned. "If we as a society start thinking: we have medication for people who are overweight, then that leads to: let the rest of us go," she said, an issue she pointed out keeps us from focusing on healthy living habits.

Focus should remain on prevention
According to the Nutrition Centre, prevention through healthy food and physical exercise should continue to be a priority.

Verhoef emphasised that the thought of what you eat by choice, and not taking too many medications, was the most important conclusion of our study. She is also worried that people using these treatments on their own could be endangering their health.

Huge increase in poisoning related to misuse
These concerns are reinforced by recent statistical data, as published for 2010 by the National Poison Information Centre (NVIC).

The number of poisonings reported from weight loss drugs increased from 41 in 2023 to 75 in 2024. In 29 of these cases, individuals were taking the drugs without a prescription. The NVIC thinks the real figure is much higher because health care providers don't have to report suspected poisonings.


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