The Value of Medication Therapy for Managing Weight Loss

In the past, the use of weight loss drugs to treat obesity developed a poor reputation because of some widely used drugs were later found to be harmful. These were primarily the class of drugs known as amphetamines, another drug called fenfluramine, and its close relative Redux^®. Fenfluramine was very popular in the late 1990s as part of a diet drug combo called Phen-Fen. Eventually, it was discovered that this diet drug combo could produce serious side effects. Redux, a specialized form of fenfluramine, was found have similar risks. Although these drugs were taken off the market, they were very effective in helping people lose moderate amounts of weight and, more importantly, maintain that weight loss.

Since that time, there has been considerable research developing new weight loss drugs and multiple scientific follow-up studies to determine if these drugs help people maintain weight loss. None of the currently available weight loss drugs produce significant weight loss when used alone. But they can be of value when used as part of a comprehensive weight management program. When used properly, these newer drugs have been found to be effective in helping people maintain weight losses, and they appear to be relatively free of risks for unhealthy consequences.

Indeed, the National Institutes of Health, The National Institute of Medicine, and the American Dietetic Association all have recognized that the use of these newer drugs can be safe and effective tools to help people maintain their weight loss over an extended period of time and feel better. In their recommendations, these well-respected organizations advocate the use of these new weight loss drugs under the following circumstances:

When their use is supervised by medical providers with special training in bariatric medicine,
When they are used in conjunction with a program that provides the appropriate psychological and behavioral support for long-term success, and
When the patient's excess weight is judged to be great enough and unhealthy enough to warrant this type of intervention
When long-term maintenance and follow-up with patients for a period of 2 to 5 years is available.

Currently, medications may be used in the treatment of obesity to help people who have lost weight maintain their weight for a period of at least five years. The reason for this is that when a person is able to maintain their weight this long, the chances are extremely good that they will be able to maintain the weight loss into the future. Indeed, the weight loss that can be maintained with a combination of weight loss drug therapy and behavioral treatment may be nearly as good as that observed in people who have had bariatric surgery to treat their weight problems.

There are several drugs available to help people with their weight management problems. Different drugs have different effects. At the IMC Center for Nutrition & Weight Management, we evaluate the each individual patient so we can carefully determine the drug that is most likely to give them the greatest amount of help with their eating behaviors. We also closely follow the effects of this drug and monitor patients using it for side effects and adverse reactions. The adverse reactions that occur as a result of most of the weight loss drugs we use are relatively minor and easily remedied. The vast majority of bariatric specialists agree that the benefits drug treatments may afford in maintaining weight losses far outweigh the small risks of taking them.