The world as we know it has been plagued by a certain kind of health care crisis - obesity. And the worst kind of antagonist are the effortlessly skinny ones who make fat people want to prove a certain 'realness'. And don't get us wrong. Real, healthy-sized women are, well, healthy. But for the obese and overweight, it is a challenge against societal pressure, food and exercise.

But all that is about to change (maybe - we know how not all diet plans work for everyone) thanks to the FDA's approval of a new weight loss drug. 'Belvig' is designed to help obese and overweight people reduce their bodyweight by suppressing their appetites.

In a clinical trial, overweight and obese patients who were already on a diet and exercise plan who used the drug lost more weight than those taking a placebo. However, we're not talking about a miracle fat to fit pill here. Belvig only helped patients lose an average of 5% of body weight.

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Belvig's manufacturer, first tried to get FDA approval a few years ago. Their bid was rejected because the American government didn't feel there was enough evidence to show that the drug was safe. They have been extra cautious after previously approving weight-loss drug Meridia, the drug that turned out to fatally mess with people's cardiovascular systems.

Belvig too has its side effects. The diet drug can cause things like dry mouth, constipation and nausea among others. Also, patients who don't see results within the first 12 weeks of using the drug are urged to stop using it - apparently if it doesn't work right away, chances are it will never work. But if the drug can give a boost to overweights who are determined to lose weight, then why not?

And why are people of today triple the size of what they were in, say the '50s? It's because the serving size of food has increased throughout the decades. Check out this interesting informative graphic here.

[TIME]