Can we win the war on obesity with pharmacotherapy? |
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Authors: | Juliet D Gotthardt |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Animal Sciences, School of Environmental &2. Biological Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA;3. Nutritional Sciences Graduate Program, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA |
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Abstract: | Introduction: Obesity is a major health concern for several countries. The United States (U.S.) has arguably led the world in the percentage of overweight and/or obese per capita for several decades. As a result, numerous FDA-approved pharmacotherapeutic options are available for the long-term treatment of obesity. Although most of these medications have been on the U.S. market for a few years and have demonstrated efficacy for long-term weight loss in clinical trials, the impact of these medications on obesity in the U.S. has yet to be realized.Areas covered: We will review and evaluate why pharmacotherapy for obesity has not produced a meaningful reduction in the number of overweight and obese adults in the U.S.Expert commentary: Several obstacles, such as adverse drug effects, poor insurance coverage, not treating obesity as a chronic disease, and availability of other weight loss alternatives, has resulted in poor performance of pharmacotherapy for obesity in the U.S. market. |
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Keywords: | Orlistat phentermine/topiramate Qsymia naltrexone/bupropion Contrave lorcaserin Belviq liraglutide Saxenda |
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