Jenny Craig diet centers stop using Fen-Phen

July 11, 1997
Web posted at: 8:45 p.m. EDT (0045 GMT)

SAN DIEGO (CNN) -- Three days after a warning from the Mayo Clinic that taking the diet pill Fen-Phen can cause heart disease, Jenny Craig Personal Weight Management has stopped prescribing it.

"In light of Mayo Clinic data, we are advising the independently contracted physicians in our centers that they not prescribe Fen-Phen until its long-term safety and efficacy is validated," Joseph LaBonte, president of Jenny Craig, said in a written statement Friday.

When Jenny Craig started prescribing Fen-Phen in December, it was a major departure from its practice of advising clients to diet and exercise.

Nutri-System, another weight-loss chain, said its medical board was reviewing the Mayo Clinic study, and it expects to decide "rather promptly" on the use of Fen-Phen.

Some weight loss centers say they don't plan any changes. For example, Dr. Morton Maxwell at the obesity clinic at the University of California-Los Angeles says the center will continue to prescribe the pills, because it has treated hundreds of patients successfully with Fen-Phen and has not seen any health problems.

 

• Fitness special: Dieting
• Consumer News: Fitness and Health - Obesity
• Consumer News: Fitness and Health - Heart
• Message Board: Doctors say Fen-Phen causes heart disease

Related stories:

• Doctors say Fen-Phen causes heart disease - July 8, 1997
• Who needs Thighmaster? - April 15, 1997
• Despite advances, 'magic pill' eludes dieters - January 31, 1997

Related sites:

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• Jenny Craig
• Mayo Clinic & Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• New England Journal of Medicine - weekly on-line version of the NEJM
• Fen-Phen FAQ - site developed by the leading FEN/PHEN proponent and practitioner, Dr. Pietr Hitzig
• Fen-Phen, Side Effects - from California Weight Loss Associates
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

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