As the season of celebration comes into full swing, holiday feasts, baked goods and extra candy indulging are causing many students to look for a quick way to shed a few extra pounds. However, students reaching out for over-the-counter weight loss pills should be wary. These supposed miracle drugs can cause some serious health issues and may not be as effective as they claim.

“I took Hydroxycut,” said Ally Schmid, a 22-yr-old college student. “I had heard good things from friends that had taken it and seen it on TV, but if I ate too much it would make me sick and feel like I needed to vomit. I was also more emotional and mood-swingy.”

Some of the most popular weight loss supplements have been known to have side affects including gas, constipation, diarrhea, indigestion, bloating, vomiting and sleeplessness. However, these should be the least of user’s concerns.

Since it takes time for the FDA to approve a new drug, weight loss supplements are usually released before federal studies are conducted. This means, when a weight loss supplement is released on the market, the consumer must rely only on the studies of the promoting company. Unfortunately, since the FDA cannot remove a drug from the market until serious health issues result, there is no guarantee the product is safe.

Ephedra, a once popular weight loss drug, was removed from the market only after cases of high blood pressure, heart rate irregularities, seizures, heart attacks, strokes and even deaths resulted.

Yet, despite the knowledge of the major health concerns associated with these drugs, people continue to deem the investment worthwhile.

“I took the pills for about a month,” Schmid said, “Like a lot of people, I gained weight when I left high school and really wanted to try to get back to my old size and they seemed to help. I was dieting as well while I was taking them, and I lost 10 pounds. I guess all the bad side affects never made it bad enough to where it wasn’t worth it to try and loose the weight.”

Anyone willing to take the risk should be aware that sometimes more than 20 ingredients including caffeine and laxatives can be combined in these products and very little is known about how they interact with an individual’s body and any other medications, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“People should not start weight loss pills without consulting a doctor,” said Marian Saylor, a medical assistant at Auburn Urgent Care. “And I know our doctors never recommend them.”

Also, many of the pills will only keep the weight off while the drug is being taken. Once an individual stops the pills the weight will return.

“Exercise, increased water intake, three low-calorie, low-fat meals a day and a daily multi-vitamin is the only healthy and guaranteed way to successfully lose weight,” said Saylor.