[Over-the-counter weight-reducing preparations].
This report deals with over-the-counter products sold currently in Denmark for weight reduction. Only oral products (alternative medications and food supplements) are included. The report includes 35 such products. The aims of the report are to provide a common, factual basis for the debate about weight-reduction products and to present proposals for regulations that improve the conditions for patients and health professionals to make their choice of the optimal products. Current laws and administrative regulations are found to be complicated, obscure and inadequate. For most products, documentation for efficacy and safety is inadequate and health hazards are probable using several of the products. It is recommended 1) that obesity should be considered as a disease also in a legal/administrative context, 2) that an effective and objective registration of side-effects to alternative medication and food supplements is established, 3) that these products are tested for efficacy and safety before being marketed, 4) that the entire product information is made easily accessible, 5) that products without any documented effect are clearly labelled with this information and 6) that weight loss products involving health hazards are excluded from the market.