Rarely does the mainstream media accurately report on important trends. So it’s only natural to feel a bit skeptical when you read about rising obesity rates in America. However, this is one story they’re getting right. Obesity is indeed a horrible epidemic with no legitimate cure in sight.

Consider this: In the Unites States, 3.8 million people weigh in at 300 pounds or more, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. More than 400,000 people weigh more than 400 pounds.

It gets worse. Between 1962–2000, the percentage of obese Americans grew, from 13% to 31% of the population. Keep this in mind the next time the government uses its favorite measuring stick — body mass index. According to BMI numbers, a whopping 63% of the population is at least overweight. And this terrible epidemic is spreading to our children. Childhood obesity in the United States has more than tripled in the past two decades.

Sadly, all this extra weight is killing more and more people every year. Obesity is now responsible for 300,000 deaths a year, according to a U.S. Surgeon General’s report. It’s also responsible for some of our most prevalent diseases. Obesity causes diabetes, one of the world’s biggest killers, causing millions of deaths every year.

Obesity is also an economic problem. The direct and indirect economic costs of obesity are a staggering $123 billion a year, according to the Surgeon General. Health professionals, politicians and the general public all know something must be done about this epidemic…

A revolutionary diet pill called Fen-phen made waves in the 1990s. It curbed patients’ appetites, just as it said. The breakthrough anti-obesity medication was made up of the drugs fenfluramine and phentermine.

Despite its success, the popular diet drug would soon become enveloped in controversy due to some very dangerous side effects. Some women who took the drug developed heart disease, specifically irregular heartbeat and heart valve conditions. Physicians opened an investigation and found that about 30% of patients on the drug who were tested had abnormal echocardiograms. Many with irregular heartbeats showed no external symptoms. As a result of these findings, the FDA withdrew the drug from the market in 1997.

Since the drug was withdrawn, Fen-phen users and family members have filed more than 50,000 product liability lawsuits. Some sources claim this has resulted in payouts of more than $14 billion.

Fen-phen’s downfall cast a massive black cloud over an entire industry. As far as most consumers are concerned, there is no safe pill that can help someone lose weight. And once this kind of damage is done, it is difficult to reverse. It is a slow process to change public opinion for the better once a product or company has betrayed the public trust.

But one tiny company is doing just that. It did all the work testing and securing its weight-loss drug’s safety and efficacy. Now that the money is spent and the research is done, it’s time for the company to start making some serious money. As you already know, if there’s a fast and cheap way to lose weight, just about everyone will try it. Now is that time…

Best,
Gunner
December 17, 2007

P.S.: Readers of my Penny Stock Fortunes are just about to receive the name of this company along with another that is set to flip the $40 billion pain management industry on its head. There has never been a better time to check out this newsletter.

Greg Guenthner

Greg Guenthner heads up Agora Financial’s small-cap division and is the founder of one of the only independent OTC research advisories in the industry. A graduate of George Mason University, Guenthner joined Agora in 2005 after several years as a journalist. He is managing editor of Penny Stock Fortunes and Bulletin Board Elite.

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