French Debut Fat-Burning Drug

French scientists have developed a drug that fools the body into burning fat even when on a high-fat diet, reports the BBC. The drug is a chemical cousin of resveratrol, a substance found in red wine and thought to combat heart disease. Higher doses of the compound completely prevented weight gain when it was tested in mice. They showed no signs of side effects.

Scientists hailed the news as a potentially important advance in the fight against obesity, but cautioned that any eventual use of the drug by humans should be combined with a healthy diet and lifestyle. French researchers developed the drug after witnessing intriguing indications that red wine had an impact on how calories are processed.
(More diet drug stories.)