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
Review
. 2024 Nov;41(11):881-896.
doi: 10.1007/s40266-024-01150-9. Epub 2024 Nov 8.

Pharmacological Treatment of Obesity in Older Adults

Ondřej Žižka  1   2 , Martin Haluzík  3   4 , Edward B Jude  5
Affiliations
Review

Pharmacological Treatment of Obesity in Older Adults

Ondřej Žižka et al. Drugs Aging. 2024 Nov.

Abstract

Obesity is a complex health issue with growing prevalence worldwide. It is also becoming more prevalent in the population of older adults (i.e., 65 years of age and older), affecting frequency and severity as well as other comorbidities, quality of life and consequently, life expectancy. In this article we review currently available data on pharmacotherapy of obesity in the population of older adults and its role in obesity management. Even though there is growing evidence, in particular in the general population, of favourable efficacy and safety profiles of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists liraglutide and semaglutide, and recently dual GLP-1 and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) agonist tirzepatide, concise guidelines for older adults are not available to this day. We further discuss specific approaches to frequently represented phenotype of obesity in older adults, in particular sarcopenic obesity and rationale when to treat and how. In older adults with obesity there is a need for more drug trials focusing not only on weight loss, but also on geriatric endpoints including muscle mass preservation, bone quality and favourable fat distribution changes to get enough data for evidence-based recommendation on obesity treatment in this growing sub-population.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations Funding Supported by the Ministry of Health, Czech Republic—conceptual development of a research organization (Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine—IKEM, IN 00023001), RVO VFN 64165, and by the project National Institute for Research of Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases (Programme EXCELES, project no. LX22NPO5104)—Funded by the European Union—Next Generation EU. Conflicts of Interest Ondřej Žižka reports no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article. Martin Haluzík reports having received honoraria for talks and/or consultancy and/or research funding from Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, AstraZeneca, Mundipharma, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen, Ypsomed, and Johnson & Johnson. Edward Jude reports having received honoraria and travel grants from Abbott, Astra Zeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Lilly, Menanini, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi. Availability of data and material Not applicable. Ethics approval Not applicable. Consent to participate Not applicable. Consent for publication Not applicable. Code availability Not applicable. Author contributions Ondřej Žižka performed the full literature review and drafted the manuscript. Martin Haluzík and Edward Jude critically revised and contributed to the finalization of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Sarcopenia definition. (Based on criteria from: Sarcopenia: revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis [16].)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Lifestyle interventions for treatment of obesity in older adults
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Wang YC, McPherson K, Marsh T, Gortmaker SL, Brown M. Health and economic burden of the projected obesity trends in the USA and the UK. Lancet. 2011;378(9793):815–25. - PubMed
    1. Grimm W, Becker HF. Obesity, sleep apnea syndrome, and rhythmogenic risk. Herz. 2006;31(3):213–8 (quiz 9). - PubMed
    1. Bastien M, Poirier P, Lemieux I, Despres JP. Overview of epidemiology and contribution of obesity to cardiovascular disease. Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2014;56(4):369–81. - PubMed
    1. Pati S, Irfan W, Jameel A, Ahmed S, Shahid RK. Obesity and cancer: a current overview of epidemiology, pathogenesis, outcomes, and management. Cancers (Basel). 2023;15(2):485. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lega IC, Lipscombe LL. Review: diabetes, obesity, and cancer-pathophysiology and clinical implications. Endocr Rev. 2020;41(1):33–52. - PubMed

Substances

LinkOut - more resources