'Skinny Pill' Designed For Overweight Kids

Pill Faces Flurry Of Controversy From Parents, Doctors

NEW YORK -- Remember when you were in school, and only a few kids in your class were overweight? Today, being overweight is rampant among young people, which has led to an epidemic of type 2 diabetes, previously unheard of in kids.

So it was probably only a matter of time before someone came up with a diet product for children -- like the Skinny Pill for Kids.

SKINNY PILLS Weigh In: Pills For Kids? Discuss: Are They Safe? How Does Your Fast-Food Meal Rate? What Are Your Calorie Needs?

"The skinny pill for kids is a combination of pills, minerals, and fiber," Edita Kaye, developer of the Skinny Pill for Kids, told WNBC-TV in New York. "I think what we have put together with our chemists is a formula that has been shown to be safe and effective for children."

There's no argument with Kaye about the pills as far as vitamins, minerals and fiber go. But Kaye and her Skinny Pills for Kids have run into a storm of controversy over the other ingredients, including undisclosed amounts of herbs such as uva-ursi, buchu leaf and juniper berry -- some of which have diuretic properties and whose safety in kids is unproven.

"Giving a diuretic to a child is not considered healthy treatment," said Dr. Louis Aronne of the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. "We don't give children diuretics because there's no reason to."

Aronne is a nationally known obesity expert on the board of the American Obesity Association, and he said if vitamins, minerals and herbs could help prevent weight gain, we wouldn't have a national obesity problem.

"There is nothing in this product that's been shown to cause weight loss," he said. "In fact, there is no evidence in adults, much less children, that this product causes weight loss. And there's nothing in it to make me think that it might cause weight loss."

Many parents and kids don't think diet pills for kids are such a hot idea, either.

"I think it's a little ridiculous," said Robert Meyer, a parent. "It's a parents' responsibility once again. They have to quit blaming everybody else and take responsibility for themselves."

The pills do come with a healthy food and eating plan that, all by itself, would probably lead to weight loss in overweight kids, as long as they followed it closely. A one-month supply of Skinny Pills costs around $40.

Additional Resource:

• Skinny.com

Previous Stories:

• September 19, 2002: Exercise Guidelines For Toddlers Released
• June 27, 2002: Fat or Fit? More Children Are Overweight
• April 3, 2002: Help Kids Avoid The 'Clean Plate Club'
• March 19, 2002: Study Links Childhood Obesity With Diabetes
• February 4, 2002: Chubby Babies May Become Obese Children
• November 13, 2001: Overweight Kids At Risk For Heart Disease

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