Japan’s First-Ever Weight Loss Drug Is Approved. But Does It Need It?

Japan — already one of the world’s thinnest nations — has its first-ever approved weight loss drug. Will users dig its nasty side effects?

Picture: KiRi / PIXTA(ピクスタ)

By Himari Semans

How to lose weight: Burn it? Or poop it out? The Japanese pharmaceutical market saw its first over-the-counter weight-loss drug hit last week. Will its side effects turn people away? The release also raises the question: what’s the market for a weight loss drug in one of the least obese nations on Earth?

Losing weight in the gym toilet

The ad for Alli on the Taisho Pharmaceuticals Web site proclaims, “Good news for people with big tummies.”

Japan’s first-ever nonprescription anti-obesity drug hit the market last week. But it may make users fart or leak oil.

Under the brand name “Alli,” pronounced a-ra-i (アライ) in Japanese, the fat-reducing medication orlistat became available over-the-counter (OTC) in Japan on April 8th. Until now, traditional Chinese herbal medicines were the sole OTC option for obesity treatment.

Orlistat promotes weight loss by blocking the absorption of dietary fat in the intestines. Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug…