Even with a thriving academic atmosphere such as UW-Madison’s, drug use has a presence on campus. In this series, The Badger Herald will examine the drug culture at UW. Today, we look at the fight to be thin with diet pills. Tomorrow, we examine the use of Oxycontin and the lengths some take to obtain the prescription painkiller.

Before-and-after pictures of weight loss, “testimonials” of success and claims of “Lose 37 pounds in just one week” have become familiar in society through ads for diet pills. However, very little information seems to circulate about the realistic effects of diet pills on weight loss and the adverse side effects of overdosing.

An ad for the diet pill Extreme Power Plus claims no work is necessary on the part of the customer to lose weight.

One female UW student said she believed the no-work claim.

“Diet pills made me really hyper and then I would have trouble sleeping, but I figured it was the only easy way to lose weight, so I didn’t mind too much,” she said.

Richard Ihlenfeld, a pharmacist at University Health Services, dispelled this myth.

“Diet pills are a crutch,” Inlenfeld said. “You must have the will to work on your own. If you don’t cut out milkshakes and greasy hamburgers from your diet, pills won’t help. It’s sort of like quitting smoking — you have to really put your mind to it,” Ihlenfeld said.

A UW student who took diet pills in high school said the pills do not work miracles.

“They didn’t really work, actually,” she said. “All they did was make me lose my appetite, not my fat.”

Ihlenfeld explained that all diet pills work by one mechanism — decreasing appetite. They also work as central nervous system stimulants. This combination makes people less hungry and more energetic.

“Diet pills increase activity and decrease calories taken in,” Ihlenfeld said. “People are then more apt to exercise and burn off calories.”

Despite the claims of health and weight loss, Ihlenfeld said there are possible risks with diet pills.

“The ones left on the market today are pretty innocuous, but they can still do damage: overstimulation, inability to sleep, and increased heart rate and blood pressure are some concerns,” Ihlenfeld said.

Ihlenfeld identified another danger in people who try to lose too much weight too fast.

“They deplete their body’s mineral resources,” he said. “Most people only lose one or two pounds per week when using diet pills.”