Americans are a little closer to a non-prescription, over-the-counter drug to fight obesity (FDA panel OKs drug for obesity). Called orlistat (same thing as prescription Xenical), it will help block fat absorption in the body. Trials showed that over 6 months, people who took orlistat lost 5 or 6 pounds more than those without orlistat (not much other information on their trials, so it isn't clear if the study participants were eating well/poorly, or exercising at all).

The manufacturer is careful to set people's expectations realistically. John Dent, R&D executive at GlaxoSmithKline, said, "There is no magic pill for weight loss and orlistat is definitely not a magic pill. Orlistat is a tool that will help people control their calorie intake."

It will be interesting to see how the public responds to this. WIth 2/3 of the adult population obese or overweight, one might be tempted to think that most of those people would take a pill to lose the extra pounds. But social trends have been changing in recent years, and more adults say they are comfortable with being overweight. So will they care about this new pill? And if they do, will they try it out immediately? Or perhaps they'll wait to see if it's safer than the last anti-obesity drug, Fen-phen?