Is Proactol the new miracle weight-loss pill?

New fat-binding pill from cactus extract, Proactol, is hoping to bolster claims that the pill binds 28% of dietary fat, with a new round of clinical trials. The post for applicants to enter the trial has them swamped with emails from thousands of women, who would be required to do no more than take in an extra 400 calories a day and a non-prescription diet pill for the grand total of GBP23,750.

Diet pills fall into three categories: those that increase your metabolism, those that suppress your appetite and those that prevent fat from being digested and absorbed into your system. Proactol falls under the latter. The undigested fat merely passes through the body without getting taken up by the digestive tract, effectively reducing the number of calories in your system.

The problem with such a pill is that it does not differentiate between saturated fats and essential fats that our bodies need, says Ian Marber of The Food Doctor nutritional consultancy. A pill doesn’t change eating habits, something Dr. Justine Setchell of London’s Westover Clinic agrees with.

“There is no magic bullet for weight loss says. Diet pills do not solve the underlying problem of how you gained weight in the first place. There is no supplement for eating less and moving more.” Not a long term solution, Proactol should be a supplement to a healthy diet and exercise.