Newspaper Page Text
VOLUME 16 N 0.795
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HEALTH
Losing
el
A v iad
Arediet °
~ pills safe?
M Area physicians hold
differing views about
the safety and overall
effectiveness of the
hottest trendy weight
loss pill — Redux. - ..
By Towana Lee and F. Benjomin
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writers
AUGUSTA
One of the most highly visible
medical battles isbeing waged on
the field of fat. The desire to shed
fatty tissue has fueled the phe
nomenal 'growth of the
multibillion dollar weight-loss
industry. And while medical ex
perts, wannabes, and just plain
quacks clamor to the marketplace
with the latest weight-loss pana
ceas, Americans of every race and
income group continue to put on
the pounds.
Front-and-centerin the weight
loss controversy is the issue of
the safety of diet pills. Among the
most controversial are pills which
use a new prescription diet medi
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I World/National News .................. 2A
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B Local/Regional News .................... SA
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B Living ........ccconinnnniiinnicnnnns 10A-11A
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I Church New5............c0..... 12A-13A
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B Business............ccconincinnne. 14A=16A
B CRlendar .......fuocchsisisiscnississenis 3B
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Mesaic by Alvin Bell
~ new apparel line with the woman of color in mind
%Mropoliwn Augusta, South Carolina and the Central Savannah River Area
See
Page
3B
cation called dexfenfluramine.
Less than a year ago, the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) gave its approval for the
use of the appetite-suppressant in
combatting obesity. The drug has
shown up in various combinations,
the most popular being Redux.
There is no question the drug
works. It-reduces the appetite by
stimulating release of the brain
chemical serotonin — associated
with thereduction of appetite. The
drug also reduces the depletion
rate of serotonin. ~
The furor over Redux and its
various forms revolves about the
risk the drug poses to thoseé who
are not seriously overweight and
the potential for abuse by pro
longed use by those who are con
sidered obese.
Dr. Gerald Oliver, a physician in
Aiken, South Carolina, feels the
risks involved with the use of
Redux are too great to ignore.
“Redux is dangerous because
people rely on pills and don’t fol
low diet and exercise regimen,”
Dr. Oliver said. “Taking Redux
canbecomeaddictive. These people
are supplementing a good feeling
for a bad one with these pills. The
? isrls’ soccer
makes debut
By Gloria Nelor
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
They asked for it, they waited, and they
finally got it—girls’ soccer in Richmond County.
After a year of research and negotiations the
Richmond County School Board approved the
petition to add a girls’ soccer team to athletic
ms(';;;“‘“&lo|ldmy,' the first all-girls
s g teams — one
from Butler High and one from Glenn Hills
High — met foot-to-foot and although Glenn
Hills prevailed 2-1, the Butler contingent is
excited about the future.
According to Tim Jennings, Butler’s soccer
coach, the response to this new sport has been
“Itisabsolutely howmuch the
tis amazing tome how mi
ot g g g aadors
. . year i
interested and they had to play with the boys
team. This year I have 22 girls that make up
‘their own team,” he explained.
rroage g vl gl
:f:fi-:m and will not be eligible. to
This restriction, however, has not dampened
MARCH 20, 1997
cure comes in discovering what is
causing the bad feeling and what
makes the person feel better,” he
said.
Lisa Tuomi, doctor of Pharmacy
and director of Drug Information
at Stanford Health Services says
the risks involved withdexfenflur
amine are well documented.
“It isn’t designed for someone
who just wants to take off a few
pounds before a major social event.
In rare cases, it can cause pulmo
nary hypertension, a heart/lung
disease serious enough in extreme
cases to cause death,” she said.
Although severe side-effects
such as primary pulmonary hy
pertension are rare, milder side
effects of Redux are more frequent.
They include diarrhea, debility,
drymouth, and sleepdisturbances.
Also, questions have been raised
about animal studies showinglong
term changes in the brains of ani
mals, but the relevance of the find
ings to humans is not known.
Dr. Sandy Smith, a bariatrics
specialist who practices in Au
gusta, uses Redux to treat obese
patients, but is concerned at the
ready availability of the drug.
“The main problem with Redux
is that doctors pass it out like
candy. We really don’t know the
long term effects of these pills. So,
we still need to be very careful
with the prescriptions,” she said.
One of the pioneers of the medi
cal weight-loss movement in Au-
See DIET PILLS, page 3A
aying it safe
How to_evaluate
weight-loss
“programs
Acéording to the National Academy
of Sciences Institute of Medicine, there
are several guidelines consumers can
use to evaluate a potential weight-loss
program:
Consumers should ask questions about:
I The qualifications of the program’s st f¥.
A professional staff knows how to counsel and
knows the right information to dispense. Staff
should regularly attend professional continuing
education and be current in the latest tech
niques for weight control because the field fre
quently has new developments.
Staff should also be trained in recognizing
related conditions, such as depression and eat
ing disorders, and either have someone on staff
to assist with these problems or be able to refer
the client to a professional that can. Clients
can’t lose weight for good until underlying psy
chological issues are resolved.
- [l The success rate of the plan including long
term success. Follow-up counseling can be just
as ;;gortantas in the weight loss phase of the
program. %G B
B The goa!fm'approaches"to weight loss.
The goals of the program should be looked at
closely. Current emphasis is on a healthy indi
vidualized weight goal rather than an “ideal”
weight that has been taken from a standardized
table. According to Jennifer Speight, a regis
tered dietician, “Emphasis should not be onaset
amount of weight that you're going to lose,
rather what is more of a goal for you as an
individual. Lots of people want to weigh a cer
tain weight, but that dosen’t take into account
how tall they are, their activity level and percent
body fat.”
I Total costs of the program.
Additionally, consumers need to be wary of
advertising that promotes anything that burns
fat while you sleep, or which touts a secret,
ancient or foreign formula. Very often “natural”
remedies including herbs or pills boost weight
loss by shedding water, not fat.
the players’ spirits.
Nerissa Franklin, an 11th grader who played
with the boys team last year, is hyped about the
team and the sport.
“Someone challenged me that I couldn’t do it
and I proved them wrong. I like soccer because
its challenging, aggressive, competitive and ac
tion-packed. It’s about time that girls can join
in the game,” Franklin said.
The coaches are just as excited as the girls
about the team.
“Ilove the sport and I enjoy watching the girls
develop and play,” said Mark McCall, Glenn
Hillssoccer coach. “I started out with three girls
last year and now I have 24. They’re fun tocoach
and the chemistry between them is awesome,”
he added.
All concerned are looking for swift develop
ment of the girls’ program. ; :
“Now that the girls and fans are interested,
I'd like to see this soccer am develop,
perhaplonthemiddleschoolmtinm
next year or two I can contact colleges for the
girls,” McCall explained. .'
Butler and Glenn Hills are among the five
schoolsin Richmond County that recently added
a girls division of soccer to its sports roster.
Hephzibah, Richmond Academy and Westside
also have teams.
:'r:;n; Ga 0802 123199 /
8 7 R&B Divas
Honored in
QEP” New Legacy Releases - See Page 38
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veteran players lvey Stewart (L) and Nerissa Franklin. Both
‘Stewart and Franklin competed against boys before the advent
of girls’ soccer. Photo by Gloria Nelor.
CRIME
OFCONTROL?
A south Richmond County
family describes what
happened when a failed drug
raid turned into a nightmare at
the hands of Augusta police.
By Frederick Benjamin
and Tawena Lee
AUGUSTAFOCUS Staff Writers
AUGUSTA
On Friday, March 7,
Lorraine Green was hanging
up clothes to dry outside of
her south Richmond County
mobile home when an armed
intruder barked instructions.
His voice was menacing.
“Hey miss, come in here”
the man shouted — gun
drawn. He instructed her to
get into the house. She
thought it best notto disobey.
The man was in SWAT team
regalia — obviously a cop.
Police led Ms. Green
through the back door and
into the trailer. Inside, Ms.
Green was shocked to see
other armed police officers
circulating through the rooms
obviously looking for some
one or something.
She wasorderedtositdown
on the couch. In an adjoining
room, she could see her son’s
girlfriend — Sabrina Rogers
—still holding hertwo-week
old child, surrounded by of
ficers, one holding arifle and
another brandishing a 9 mm
pistol. Other officers were
ransacking the bedroom.
The officers were obvi
ously looking for Tony
Green, Lorraine’ssonand the
father of Sabrina’s child. Mr.
Green was not at home.
“You don’t know where
your nigger is? Why are you
trying to protect him?” they
shouted at Sabrina. Despite
Sabrina’s protestations and
VS
| BULK RATE
4 U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
NO. 302
AUGUSTA, GA
Sabrina Rogers holds
pieces of siding Rich
mond County police al
legedly tore from her
residence during a
failed drug raid. Rogers
and other residents say
police planted the drug
afterfailing to find what
they were looking for.
Police have yet o pro
duce a warrant for the
search. Photo by Tawana Lee
repeated assertions that she
did not know of the where
abouts of Mr. Green, they
continued badgering herand
destroying furnishings.
As Sabrina, Ms. Green
and Sabrina’s younger sis
ter cowered in the face of
the armed intrusion, the po
lice grew more and more
agitated. They could not find
Mr. Green and they obvi
ously could not find any
narcotics. Throughitall, the
four children, all five years
of age or younger, contin
ued to scream and cry while
grown men pointed weap
ons at them.
See SEARCH, page 3A