ALBUTEROL FOR WEIGHT CONTROL

Report #6247 7/13/94

Eight of 10 Americans think they are too fat. A recent report from Louisiana State University showed that a common asthma drug can help people to eat less and burn more calories.

For more than 20 years, doctors have used beta adrenergic drugs, such as albuterol, to treat asthma. The Food and Drug Administration has approved albuterol to treat only asthma. Sometimes, medication that is originally used for one condition is found to be effective in treating other conditions. Several years ago, athletes found that albuterol could be used to improve their performance. All training is done by taking an intense workout and then taking easy ones until the body recovers. Taking albuterol will allow you to recover in one day from a workout that usually takes three days. You recover faster and can do more work and become a better athlete. However, because albuterol can improve athletic performance, the International Olympic Committee banned it and any athlete caught taking it in pill form can be banned for life from international competition. Athletes who take albuterol noticed that they lost fat when they took it. A study in the International Journal of Obesity shows that albuterol can rev up your metabolism so you burn more calories and it can suppress appetite so you eat less. Eating less food and burning more calories gets rid of fat. The Food and Drug Administration has not approved albuterol for weight control, but some doctors use the same dose that is used to treat asthma. It can make your heart beat faster and you feel shaky and raise your blood pressure.

By Gabe Mirkin, M.D., for CBS Radio News