Slimming pill - not a patent drug?

A medicine has now thought to have been found, by French scientists, to combat fat, according to the BBC. It tricks the body into hitching the metabolism rate up a notch. 

This means that the body is programmed to work at a faster metabolism which would usually only occur when energy levels are low.

The drug contains a substance which is a chemical cousin to that found in red wine.

When used in mice at high doses it not only completely prevented weight gain but also improved blood sugar tolerance and insulin sensitivity.

Is it the answer?

Could this be the drug to prevent 1000 deaths a week caused by obesity? Is medicating obesity really the answer, when being fat isn't really a disease? There's always concern that once a solution in the form of a pill arises, there will be  abandonment of exercise and healthy eating as people feel it is no longer necessary.

Perhaps I am being sceptical. I am sure it would say on the packet that it is a supplement to healthy eating and exercise. And even if being fat isn't a disease, there are many diseases that creep along side it, such as cardiovascular problems.

In one sense it is a matter of who gets their hands on it. If it's to save lives, then it serves it has a worthwhile purpose. If it ends up as a replacement for the "Atkins" diet because it went out of fashion a few years ago, then perhaps not so much. 

I think it is important to differentiate slimming from surviving. This drug would not just be a remedy for removing love handles.