The journal Diabetes Care reports obese adults who lost a substantial amount of weight through lifestyle modification and dieting regained less weight when they took the diet drug Xenical, This approach was also associated with a reduced occurrence of type 2 diabetes.

Xenical burns fat while you are eating by inhibiting the absorption of dietary fat from your food. Studies have shown that the drug promotes more weight loss than lifestyle modification alone. The study examined the effectst of Xenical in preventing weight regain in 383 obese adults who had lost an average of 31.7 pounds (14.4 kg) on an 8-week protein-rich, very-low-energy diet. The 309 participants who lost 5% or more of their bodyweight then received lifestyle counseling for 3 years while taking either Xenical or a placebo pill daily. Both groups regained some weight. Xenical patients regained an average of 10 pounds, while placebo patients put back an average of 15 pounds.

Most importantly, during the 3-year study period only 8 of 153 in the Xenical group developed type 2 diabetes compared with 17 of 156 in the placebo group. That's remarkable. Twice as many people were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, in addition to regaining one and a half times the weight. As an aside (and not to be a whistleblower) but one of the warnings on the label says the drug should not be taken for more than 2 years. Just an FYI.