By Bae Ji-sook
Staff reporter

Thirty one-year-old Chung goes on a diet every spring through autumn. "I have tried nearly every method. You name it, from simply starving to the Atkins, Danish and all other diet programs," she said.

One thing she tried was a fiber tonic to boost fat burning, which was supposed to give her a slim bodyline within eight weeks. But she gave up within a month.

"I didn't feel so good. It worked in a very different way than I expected. I had a slight stomachache and suffered from nausea, too," she said. "After quitting, I felt okay again. I didn't really pay much attention to what I was eating," she said.

Having an ultra-slim body may be every woman's dream these days, however, the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) warned Wednesday that relying on chemical dietary products to become slimmer in a short period of time could damage their health.

The KFDA surveyed 927 women and 139 men between 15 and 59 who had previously tried Western or Oriental dietary "medicines" to try and slim down. About 66.4 percent, or 708, said they had undergone some harmful side-effects.

Being allowed to give multiple answers, the majority of the respondents (64 percent) experienced the simple "yoyo effect," where their weight increased again as soon as they stopped taking the product or monitoring what they ate.

Fifty-two percent suffered nausea, 40 percent saw increased thirst, 18 percent suffered depression, while 13 percent had menstruation problems.

About 1.7 percent said they had hallucinations and 1.4 percent suffered serious liver damage.

In more in-depth questioning of 861 people, 22 percent said they chose Oriental medicine, followed by 7 percent taking prescribed drugs from their doctors. Some fat-dissolving agent injections, performed by certified plastic surgeons, were also a popular method to lose weight relatively easily and effectively.

However, many of them were not informed of what they were taking. About 60 percent did not know the fact that some of the "obesity-treatment products" contained narcotics. The drug agency said 554 out of 788 prescriptions intended to suppress appetite had some form of narcotic substance as an ingredient.

Those who haven't tried any kind of drugs to lose weight were also ignorant of the issue. "They seemed unaware that the taking of certain Oriental medicines and narcotics should be tightly monitored, as there are high chances of abuse," the KFDA said in a press release.



다이어트 약물, 건강 해친다

정(31)모씨는 매년 봄부터 여름까지 다이어트를 한다. "별의별 다이어트 방법을 따 써봤어요. 냅다 굶어보기도 했고 덴마크 애트킨스 다이어트까지 정말 안 해본 것이 없어요."

지방을 태우는 속도를 촉진시키기 위해 8주 이내에 늘씬한 몸매를 약속했었던 fiber tonic을 복용하기 시작하였으나 한달 만에 포기하게 되었다.

복용하는 동안 복통이 잦은가 하면 속이 메스꺼운 등 몸 상태가 좋지 않았다고 정씨는 밝혔다. 정씨는 "자신이 생각한 것과는 다르게 작용했다"며 "복용을 중지하자 컨디션이 회복되었다" 말했다.

날씬한 몸매를 갖는 것은 거의 모든 여성들의 꿈이다. 하지만 단기간에 체중을 줄이기 위해 화학 다이어트 약물을 복용하는 것은 건강을 해칠 수 있다고 한국 식품 의약청이 수요일 경고했다.