Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Feb;36(1):13-25.
doi: 10.4093/dmj.2012.36.1.13. Epub 2012 Feb 17.

Anti-Obesity Drugs: A Review about Their Effects and Safety

Jun Goo Kang  1 , Cheol-Young Park
Affiliations

Anti-Obesity Drugs: A Review about Their Effects and Safety

Jun Goo Kang et al. Diabetes Metab J. 2012 Feb.

Abstract

The current recommendations for the treatment of obese people include increased physical activity and reduced calories intake. When the behavioral approach is not sufficient, a pharmacologic treatment is recommended. In past years, numerous drugs have been approved for the treatment of obesity; however, most of them have been withdrawn from the market because of their adverse effects. In fact, amphetamine, rimonabant and sibutramine licenses have been withdrawn due to an increased risk of psychiatric disorders and non-fatal myocardial infarction or stroke. Even if orlistat is not as effective as other drugs in reducing body weight, orlistat is presently the only available choice for the treatment of obesity because of its safety for cardiovascular events and positive effects on diabetic control. Hopefully, more effective and better tolerated anti-obesity drugs will be developed through an improved understanding of the multiple mechanisms and complex physiological systems targeting appetite.

Keywords: Anti-obesity agents; Obesity; Safety.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

References

    1. James WP. The epidemiology of obesity: the size of the problem. J Intern Med. 2008;263:336–352. - PubMed
    1. Park HS, Park CY, Oh SW, Yoo HJ. Prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome in Korean adults. Obes Rev. 2008;9:104–107. - PubMed
    1. National Task Force on the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity. Overweight, obesity, and health risk. Arch Intern Med. 2000;160:898–904. - PubMed
    1. National Institutes of Health. Clinical guidelines on the identification, evaluation, and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults: the evidence report. Obes Res. 1998;6(Suppl 2):51S–209S. - PubMed
    1. Kaukua J, Pekkarinen T, Sane T, Mustajoki P. Health-related quality of life in obese outpatients losing weight with very-low-energy diet and behaviour modification: a 2-y follow-up study. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2003;27:1072–1080. - PubMed