Xenical

See Also: Determining if you are overweight - Losing weight the healthy way - Common weight loss questions - Alli

About Xenical

Xenical is a prescription-only weight loss treatment that first appeared in the UK and Europe in 1998, and in the USA the following year. The active ingredient in Xenical is Orlistat, a lipase inhibitor that can be used to assist weight loss in individuals who are overweight or obese.

How Xenical works

Xenical works by preventing a proportion of dietary fat from being absorbed by the body during digestion. It does this by inhibiting gastric lipase, an enzyme used by our body to break down fat molecules in the stomach and intestine. By inhibiting the actions of this enzyme, Xenical allows around 30% of dietary fat to pass through the body undigested (this undigested fat passes through the intestine and comes out via the stools).

The Xenical diet pill

The Xenical diet pill proved successful on release, but being prescription-only it hasn't been made widely available. Now, this is to be expected of a prescription medicine and quite rightly so, but, as Xenical is considered a "lifestyle" drug, doctors are reluctant to prescribe Xenical for free on the NHS. This means that many who need the treatment can still find access to it restricted, as they need to get a private prescription, which means paying to see the doctor and then paying for the Xenical itself.

A new diet pill containing Orlistat has recently been made available in pharmacies throughout the UK and Europe. The new treatment, available without prescription, is called Alli.

What is Alli?

Alli is a recently launched weight loss treatment containing the active ingredient Orlistat. Being the first weight loss treatment available without a prescription, Alli has proved a massive success. It contains a lower dosage of Orlistat than Xenical, 60mg compared to 120mg, but is still just as effective. To compare; Xenical, which has 120mg of Orlistat, inhibits the absorption of 30% of dietary fat, while Alli, which has 60mg of Orlistat, inhibits 25%.

Alli is much more convenient than Xenical because it can be bought over-the-counter without a visit to the doctor. It is pharmacy-only so you will need to talk to your pharmacist first in order to ensure that it is dispensed appropriately. This can be done online with our BMI calculator, which calculates your Body Mass Index to ensure that you are suitable to take Alli. We also have a weight loss target calculator that will enable you to see how Alli can help you to achieve your weight loss goals.

Alli is not a miracle cure, but its clinical validation means that it has been tested to the highest standard and cannot make any false claims that cannot be backed up. Because Orlistat has been on the market since 1998 (in the form of Xenical), it is known to be safe and effective. If you would like to know more about Orlistat, then please visit our Orlistat Information page.