Diet pills have left a bad taste in the collective world of weight loss, especially thanks to the reputation of old diet pills. While modern weight loss products have come a long way from the days of early dieting pills, there is still a significant pushback to diet pills as a whole, and for good reason.

The history of old diet pills is complicated, messy, and dangerous, however, these discoveries helped contribute to modern weight loss methods, which are much safer and more reliable.

Let’s get into a brief history of diet pills.

Overview

• Diet pills became popular around the 1800s, around the time that extreme thinness was popular among women. These diet options were incredibly dangerous.
• Thyroid hormone diet pills became popular due to their effectiveness, but the long standing aftereffects, both physical and mental, led to them being outlawed by the FDA.
• Modern diet pills undergo more standardization, and testing, are subject to more restrictions than past diet pills and tend to focus on gradual weight loss that is sustainable and results in fewer issues overall.

A Look at Early Diet Pills

Diet pills were marketed as “fat reducers” in the late 1800s, with products like “Frank J. Kellogg’s Safe Fat Reducer” gracing the shelves. However, these products were made using thyroid extract, meaning they increased the metabolism, but led to complications including heart issues, chest pain, palpitations, and fatigue. While these concerns were well documented, these kinds of diet pills remained on the shelves into the 1960s.

Due to their nature, thyroid hormone pills are notoriously unstable as far as maintaining weight loss goes. However, the medical applications of thyroid hormone are long-reaching, meaning that while these chemicals are not used for weight loss anymore, they can provide medical assistance to those with thyroid issues.

Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Diet Pills

While the 1800s had their fair share of odd dieting pills and snake oil, the 1900s were full of dangerous dieting pills, leading to the safety regulations we know today in the fitness industry.

One such example, Dinitrophenol (DNP) was popular during the 1930s, and while it did lead to significant weight loss, this came at a significant cost. Shortly after it hit the market, patients taking the supplement started dying suddenly. Those who experienced more mild side effects would experience high temperatures, rashes, loss of vision, and loss of taste.

Unsurprisingly, this drug was taken off the market in 1938.

As seems to be the case in medical history, once amphetamines were discovered they started being prescribed for everything, from colds and asthma to yes, even weight loss. Amphetamines suppress the appetite, and provide an uptick in energy, leading to weight loss over time. While amphetamines are still prescribed today, largely for the treatment of ADHD and other conditions, the addictive nature and adverse effects of these pills led to them being taken off the market as a dieting aid.

Aminorex was developed in the 1960s, and as expected this list was pulled from the market shortly after in 1968, due to a spike in pulmonary hypertension cases in patients taking the medication. This period saw a spike in popularity for thyroid hormones, as well as laxatives, however, both were damaging to the overall health of individuals, and led to adverse mental and physical complications, not to mention toxicity levels.

Ephedra became popular as a weight-loss treatment in the 1970s when it was discovered as an asthma treatment. However, the herbal stimulant was used as a performance enhancer and could lead to fatal heart attacks, as well as a significant number of symptoms. High blood pressure and seizures also came hand-in-hand with taking Ephedra, leading to the FDA banning the product.

With concerns about the impacts of dieting pills on mental and physical health, companies sought to find an answer that replaced amphetamines in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. People sought more powerful diet suppressants than caffeine, without the adverse reactions attributed to amphetamines, leading to phentermine, fenfluramine, and dexfenfluramine. While these were all approved by the FDA, they were eventually removed from the market due to a wide range of issues, including primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH), which could lead to sudden death. Regardless, these drugs were incredibly popular during the 1990s, with “fen-phen” taking center stage alongside the extreme skinniness in vogue during the time.

Modern dieting pills focus more on appetite suppression and subtly increasing the overall fat burned by your body. The 2000s saw a rise in people using coffee to suppress their appetite, as well as the ill-advised practice of taking laxatives to try and aid digestion and weight loss, a practice now associated with eating disorders.

While stimulant weight loss products are always incredibly popular, the inherent dangers of these products have led companies to search for safer, herbal supplements to help promote sustainable weight loss.

Root extracts, vitamins, stimulants, nootropics, and minerals have flooded the market under names like PhenQ and Leanbean, as well as a variety of dieting teas, powders, tinctures, and more. As far as safety goes, PhenQ is a decent option for anyone looking for mild appetite suppressant and caffeination, without putting their health at risk.

Differences Between Modern and Old Diet Pills

Modern dieting pills are much safer than previous iterations, with a focus on quality control and avoiding significant physical and psychological downsides while still providing a functioning product.

Old dieting pills used to contain many more chemicals, including heavy metals that could lead to serious issues, including cancer, organ damage, and more.

Modern medications are balanced to avoid interactions and have undergone rigorous testing before hitting the market, making it much safer for you to naturally enhance your weight loss without worrying about unwanted toxins or unknown chemicals.

While there are similarities between modern and old dieting aids as far as their form goes, modern dieting pills are easier to digest, and have a focus on both function and safety, allowing you to purchase powders, pills, tinctures, tablets, and more without worrying about hidden chemicals and supplements.

Modern dieting pills focus more on providing natural, gradual weight loss without compromising your health as a whole. While weight loss can be freeing for some, the dependence on stimulants and an unhealthy focus on body size can contribute to the development of eating disorders. That’s why it’s important to consult with your doctor before starting any new dieting or supplement regimen and be aware that there is more to weight loss than just losing pounds. Thankfully, with healthier dieting pills and supplements on the market, getting weight loss aids is easier than ever.

Psychological and Physiological Issues with Old Diet Pills

Early dieting pills led to drug dependency, especially with the inclusion of amphetamines. Other issues associated with old dieting pills were long-lasting health issues, heart problems, and other physical conditions depending on the pills.

The mental side effects of dieting pills were also quite pronounced. Not only does focusing on weight and body image lead to eating disorders, but several dieting pills contributed to malnutrition, as well as fatigue, mood swings, and more. Hallucinations, dizziness, insomnia, stomach cramps, and withdrawal symptoms were common with anorectic uses as well.

While there are many counseling options available for those with eating disorders, the overall damage done by dieting pills and long-term bulimia or anorexia can be fatal and should be taken seriously.

There are also issues with overdose for certain dieting pills, especially those based on stimulants. While modern dieting pills are much harder to overdose on, due to their nature, there can still be long-term consequences for misusing weight loss aids. Always follow your doctor’s recommendations when trying a new supplement or medication and keep detailed records of any adverse side effects you may experience while taking a new medication.

Side Effects of Modern Diet Pills

While modern dieting pills are safer than their old counterparts, they do still come with some levels of risks, including increased heart rate, irritation, temperature increases, fatigue, nausea, constipation, and more. Always consult the label of any dieting aid or supplement before beginning to take the medication and be sure to follow the dosage instructions to avoid any undue side effects.

Keep in mind that many supplements offer recommendations about when to take the supplement, such as alongside meals or after working out. These recommendations can increase the effectiveness of the medication while also preventing unwanted side effects, so it is always best to follow the dosing instructions as closely as possible.

Conclusion

While the history of dieting pills can be daunting to approach at first, the mistakes of the past inform the successes of the future. Tighter restrictions on dieting pills, as well as quality assurance standards and rigorous testing, make dieting supplements much safer than those of the past. While dieting pills should only be used under doctoral or nutritionist advice, modern herbal supplements are safe to use, so long as a healthy weight is maintained. Overall, while old dieting pills were largely shot in the dark when it came to medical research, modern dieting aids are subjected to more rigorous studies, leading to higher quality products overall.