Europe is considering prescribing Xenical (Orlistat) to children as young as 12. Pharmaceutical company Roche is citing new studies showing that Xenical can help 12-16 year olds lose weight.

As orlistat still does not have an official licence for use in adolescents, it will be up to doctors’ discretion to decide who to prescribe it for, said a spokeswoman from Roche.

Enough already drug companies. I think that much of childhood weight issues are due to a sedentary culture. Most people of an older generation can remember getting plenty of exercise as part of a normal lifestyle.

We don’t need to begin a culture of pill-popping at this impressionable age. How on earth does that teach responsibility? Then of course there are the unpleasant side effects of Xenical. This drug is already available over-the-counter in some countries.