Appetite Suppressants

Appetite-suppressant medications are drugs that promote weight loss by decreasing appetite or increasing the sensation of fullness.

Description

Obesity is a disease that affects millions of adults and children all over the world. It necessitate serious health risks. Medical professionals generally consider obesity to be a chronic illness requiring life-long treatment and management. It is often grouped with other chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, as a condition that can be controlled but not cured. One is considered obese if one's Body Mass Index, or BMI, (a ratio of height to weight, indicating the amount of fat tissue in the body) exceeds 30%.

The most important strategies for managing obesity are not only medications but a healthy diet coupled with moderate exercise. As in other chronic conditions, the use of prescription medications may assist in managing the condition for some individuals.

The class of medications used most often for weight loss are commonly referred to as "appetite suppressants". These medications promote weight loss by helping to reduce appetite, and/or by increasing the subjective feeling of fullness. They work by increasing serotonin or catecholamines, two neurotransmitters (chemicals) in the brain that affect both mood and appetite.

Several prescription medications are currently approved for cure of obesity. In general, the effects of these medications are lowly, leading to an average initial weight loss of between 5 and 22 pounds. There is important individual difference in response to these medications; some people experience greater weight loss than others. The aim of ordering weight loss medication is to help the medically at risk obese patient "jump-start" their weight loss effort and lose 10% or more of their starting body weight. When this can be finished, it usually leads to a reduction in risk for obesity-related illnesses, such as high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes. Weight loss tends to be greatest during the first few weeks or months of treatment, leveling off after about six months. Research suggests that if a patient does not lose at least four pounds during the first four weeks on a particular medication, that medication is unlikely to be effective over the long run. Few studies have addressed safety or effectiveness of medications taken for more than a few months at a time. Little data exists on the long-term effectiveness of the drugs.

All but two of the prescription appetite suppressants in the United States have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for short-term use only. Short-term use generally means a few weeks or months at the longest. One appetite suppressant medication was approved for longer-term use within the past decade, but that drug, dexfenfluramine (Redux) was withdrawn from the market because of inadmissible risks associated with its use.

Another medication was approved within the past few years for longer-term use, up to a year and possibly longer, in meaningly obese patients. This drug, an appetite suppressant, is called sibutramine (Meridia). Individuals with a history of heart disease, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, or history of stroke should not take sibutramine. All patients taking this medication should have their blood pressure monitored regularly.

While the FDA regulates how a medication can be advertised or promoted by the manufacturer, these regulations do not constrain physicians from prescribing it as they believe appropriate. This practice of prescribing medications for conditions other than those for which they were approved, or at different dosages, or for different lengths of time, is known as "off-label" use.

Most of the side effects of prescription medications for weight loss are mild.

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