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Pharmacotherapy for obesity.

Jason C G Halford1

  • 1Kissileff Laboratory for the Study of Human Ingestive Behaviour, School of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Eleanor Rathbone Building, Bedford Street South, Liverpool L69 7ZA, UK. j.c.g.halford@liverpool.ac.uk

Appetite
|October 19, 2005
PubMed
Summary

Obesity pharmacotherapies like orlistat and sibutramine offer modest weight loss but significant health benefits. Even small weight reductions, such as 2.8 kg with orlistat, can decrease diabetes incidence.

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Area of Science:

  • Endocrinology
  • Metabolic Diseases
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • The global obesity pandemic presents a significant disease burden.
  • Sustained weight loss of 5-10% in obese individuals yields substantial health improvements.
  • Current pharmacotherapies (orlistat, sibutramine) achieve 5-10% weight loss over 2+ years, but with modest placebo-subtracted results (2-4 kg).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the efficacy and benefits of available obesity pharmacotherapies.
  • To highlight the health advantages associated with even modest weight loss.
  • To discuss recent findings on the anti-obesity drug rimonabant.

Main Methods:

  • Review of clinical trial data for orlistat and sibutramine.
  • Analysis of weight loss outcomes compared to placebo.
  • Examination of health outcome data, including diabetes incidence.
  • Inclusion of recent data on the investigational drug rimonabant.

Main Results:

  • Orlistat and sibutramine induce 5-10% weight loss over extended periods.
  • Placebo-subtracted weight loss is typically modest, around 2-4 kg.
  • The XENDOS trial demonstrated that a 2.8 kg weight loss with orlistat reduced diabetes incidence by over 33%.

Conclusions:

  • Pharmacotherapies for obesity, despite modest weight loss, offer significant health benefits.
  • Even small, sustained weight reductions are clinically valuable for managing comorbidities like diabetes.
  • Further research into novel anti-obesity agents like rimonabant is warranted.

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