Britains using more obesity drugs

LONDON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Britain's National Health Service is prescribing obesity drugs more than 1 million times a year.

A new report said the prescriptions are mainly for orlistat (Xenical) and sibutramine (Reductil), the Daily Telegraph reported Thursday.

Orlistat prevents the absorption of some fat in the intestine, while sibutramine alters chemical messages in the brain that control hunger.

The Health Survey for England said there were 1.06 million prescriptions for drugs to treat obesity in 2006 -- the most recent data available -- at a cost of about $9.7 million. That compared to 871,000 prescriptions in 2005 and 127,000 prescriptions in 1999.

The report said the number of obesity drug prescriptions for 2007 likely exceeded the 2006 figure.

More than 21 percent of men and 23 percent of women in England are considered obese, the newspaper said.