Some ethical refl ections on weight-loss diets

Amaç: Endokrinoloji ve metabolizma hastalıkları uzmanlarına obezite konusunda nadiren söz verilirken, ilgisiz branşlardan hekimler ya da hekim dahi olmayan kimseler sık sık medyada yer almaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, kilo verme diyetlerinin klasik tıbbın hakimiyetinden çıkıp bir suistimal alanı haline gelişini irdelemektir. Yöntem ve gereç: Konu ile ilgili literatür taranarak, elde edilen bilgiler etik perspektiften yorumlanmıştır. Bulgular: Kilo verme diyetleri ile ilgili olarak, televizyon ve internet aracılığı ile tıbbi dayanağı şüpheli çözümler sunulmaktadırlar. Çeşitli zayıflama ilaçları yeterince tetkik edilmeden kolayca piyasaya sürülmekte; ciddi sayıda insanı sıhhen olumsuz etkiledikten – ve kar edildikten – sonra geri çekilmektedir. Sonuç: Kilo verme diyetlerinde genel olarak para ya da popülarite hedefl enmektedir. İnsani sorumluluktan uzak, zarar vermeme ilkesine kayıtsız bu gibi tutumlar farmakolojiyi lekelemektedir. Söz konusu suistimallerin üstesinden gelmek için, geleneksel tıbbın otoritesi vurgulanmalı, ilaç üretimi daha hassas bir kontrole tabi tutulmalı; özel ihtisası olmayan kişilerin, bitkisel reçete ve tavsiyelerinin, iletişim organları kanalıyla yarattığı bilgi kirliliği önlenmelidir.

Kilo verme diyetleri hakkında bazı etik düşünceler

Aim: To assess how weight-loss diets tend to move away from the authority of conventional medicine and become a field of abuse. Endocrinologists and specialists on metabolic diseases are rarely called upon to speak about obesity, whereas physicians from unrelated fields or nonphysicians frequently appear in the media. Materials and methods: The literature related with the field was reviewed and interpreted from an ethical perspective. Results: It is presented medically doubtful solutions via television and the internet. Several weight-loss drugs are introduced to the market without adequate controls and then have to be withdrawn after having caused serious damage to the health of a significant number of users – and after producing large profi ts for the providers. Conclusion: The main purpose is actually gaining money or popularity rather than curing people’s weight problems. Attitudes, which are far from conforming to human responsibility and the ethical principle of not causing harm, are tainting the reputation of pharmacology. In order to overcome such sort of abuses, the authority of conventional medicine should be emphasized, drug production should be carefully controlled, and misinformation dealt out by non-specialists’ advices and the unqualifi ed promotion of herbal recipes through media communication should be prevented.

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