Available only on prescription, Reductil pills contains the active ingredient Sibutramine hydrochloride monohydrate. A very effective slimming pill for some Reductil pills work by preventing two neurotransmitters, noradrenaline and serotonin, from being reabsorbed back into the nerve cells.

The effect of stopping reabsorbtion is that you feel feel more full and satisfied after eating, thus encouraging you to eat less food at one sitting.

Reductil is only prescribed to extremely obese people, with a BMI of 30 or above, or those with a BMI of 27 or higher who also have other risk factors, such as type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, or increased risk of heart disease.

While taking this medication you will also be expected to follow an appropriate diet (reduced calories, healthy eating) and participate in regular exercise. These drugs will achieve little unless other appropriate lifestyle changes are made.

Your doctor will work with you on all aspects of this, with the goal that once weight has been lost, you are able to maintain your new weight once you stop taking the medication.

Doctors will only prescribe this category of medication to those who have clearly demonstrative difficulty losing weight or maintaining weight loss of more than five per cent of their body weight over three months, using programmes of diet and exercise.