Rimonabant is a diet pill that has been proven to help people lose weight, especially those who are clinically obese or at risk of heart disease. It is licensed in some parts of Europe as Acomplia and in the United States as Zimulti. It has come to the diet pill market via a strange twist of scientific fate. When it came to scientists’ attention that the smoking of an illegal substance, cannabis, won't give the smoker the "munchies" –- or an increase in appetite in layman’s terms –- they began to wonder if they might reverse the process. If these receptors are stimulated during the smoking of cannabis, perhaps they can be blocked or manipulated to suppress appetite. Rimonabant is the drug scientists developed to achieve this goal and has been proven to inhibit the areas of the brain that control the desire for food.
The cannabinoids in cannabis stimulate the brain’s Endocannabinoid System and provoke an increase in appetite. Rimonabant works in the opposite direction and acts to inhibit the brain’s hunger receptors and therefore suppresses appetite. More specifically, it counters what are known as the brain’s CB1 receptors, which are known to effect lipid and glucose metabolism, obesity, and even smoking and drug habits. Moreover, Rimonabant encourages the production of the good cholesterols known as High-Density Lipoproteins (HDL) while reducing triglyceride levels.
Those who are obese or significantly overweight are known to benefit from Rimonabant. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that an obese person has a body mass index of more than 25% fat for men and 30% for women (30kg/m2). Rimonabant is only available on prescription and is only prescribed to those who are clinically obese and to overweight people who have a significant chance of heart disease. Of course, Rimonabant is not a weight-loss panacea and must be used in conjunction with a regulated diet and exercise. A doctor will need proof that a patient asking to be prescribed Rimonabant can first lose some weight without the help of the drug.
As for side effects, Rimonabant is not thought to have any significant or long-lasting ones. However, some patients have been known to experience feelings of nervousness or anxiety, periods of insomnia and even depression. This is believed to be the result of the drug’s manipulation of the brain’s receptors. As per most prescribed medicines, there is a chance Rimonabant can cause diarrhea and nausea, too.
