pharmacological management of obesity: an endocrine ... · modification be included in all obesity...

Pharmacological Management of Obesity AnEndocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline

Caroline M Apovian Louis J Aronne Daniel H Bessesen Marie E McDonnellM Hassan Murad Uberto Pagotto Donna H Ryanand Christopher D Still

Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center (CMA) Boston Massachusetts02118 Weill-Cornell Medical College (LJA) New York New York 10065 Denver Health MedicalCenter (DHB) Denver Colorado 80204 Brigham and Womenrsquos Hospital (MEM) BostonMassachusetts 02115 Mayo Clinic Division of Preventative Medicine (MHM) Rochester Minnesota55905 Alma Mater University of Bologna (UP) S Orsola-Malpighi Hospital Endocrinology Unit 40138Bologna Italy Pennington Biomedical Research Center (DHR) Baton Rouge Louisiana 70808 andGeisinger Health Care System (CDS) Danville Pennsylvania 17822

Objective To formulate clinical practice guidelines for the pharmacological management ofobesity

Participants An Endocrine Society-appointed Task Force of experts a methodologist and a med-ical writer This guideline was co-sponsored by the European Society of Endocrinology and TheObesity Society

Evidence This evidence-based guideline was developed using the Grading of RecommendationsAssessment Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system to describe the strength of recommen-dations and the quality of evidence

Consensus Process Onegroupmeeting several conferencecalls ande-mail communicationsenabledconsensusCommitteesandmembersoftheEndocrineSociety theEuropeanSocietyofEndocrinologyand The Obesity Society reviewed and commented on preliminary drafts of these guidelines Twosystematic reviews were conducted to summarize some of the supporting evidence

Conclusions Weight loss is a pathway to health improvement for patients with obesity-associated riskfactors and comorbidities Medications approved for chronic weight management can be useful ad-juncts to lifestyle change for patients who have been unsuccessful with diet and exercise alone Manymedications commonly prescribed for diabetes depression and other chronic diseases have weighteffects either to promote weight gain or produce weight loss Knowledgeable prescribing of medi-cations choosing whenever possible those with favorable weight profiles can aid in the preventionand management of obesity and thus improve health (J Clin Endocrinol Metab 100 342ndash362 2015)

Summary of Recommendations10 Care of the patient who is overweight orobese

11 We recommend that diet exercise and behavioralmodification be included in all obesity management ap-

proaches for body mass index (BMI) 25 kgm2 and thatother tools such as pharmacotherapy (BMI 27 kgm2

with comorbidity or BMI over 30 kgm2) and bariatricsurgery (BMI 35 kgm2 with comorbidity or BMI over40 kgm2) be used as adjuncts to behavioral modification

ISSN Print 0021-972X ISSN Online 1945-7197Printed in USACopyright copy 2015 by the Endocrine SocietyReceived September 3 2014 Accepted December 8 2014First Published Online January 15 2015

For article see page 363

Abbreviations ACE angiotensin-converting enzyme AED antiepileptic drug ARB angioten-sin receptor blocker BID twice a day BMI body mass index BP blood pressure CCK cho-lecystokinin CI confidence interval DPP-4 dipeptidyl peptidase IV ER extended releaseGLP-1 glucagon-like peptide-1 H1 histamine HbA1c glycated hemoglobin POMC pro-opiomelanocortin PYY peptide YY QD every day RCT randomized controlled trial SCsubcutaneous SGLT sodium-glucose-linked transporter SNRI serotonin-norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitor SSRI selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor T2DM type 2 diabetes TID threetimes a day

S P E C I A L F E A T U R E

C l i n i c a l P r a c t i c e G u i d e l i n e

342 jcemendojournalsorg J Clin Endocrinol Metab February 2015 100(2)342ndash362 doi 101210jc2014-3415

Downloaded from httpsacademicoupcomjcemarticle-abstract10023422813109by gueston 25 August 2018

to reduce food intake and increase physical activity whenthis is possible Drugs may amplify adherence to behaviorchange and may improve physical functioning such thatincreased physical activity is easier in those who cannotexercise initially Patients who have a history of being un-able to successfully lose and maintain weight and whomeet label indications are candidates for weight loss med-ications (1|QQQQ)

12 In order to promote long-term weight maintenancewe suggest the use of approved1 weight loss medication(over no pharmacological therapy) to ameliorate comor-bidities and amplify adherence to behavior changes whichmay improve physical functioning and allow for greaterphysical activity in individuals with a BMI 30 kgm2 orin individuals with a BMI of 27 kgm2 and at least oneassociated comorbid medical condition such as hyperten-sion dyslipidemia type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and obstruc-tive sleep apnea (2|QQEE)

13 In patients with uncontrolled hypertension or a his-tory of heart disease we recommend against using thesympathomimetic agents phentermine and diethylpro-pion (1|QQQE)

14 We suggest assessment of efficacy and safety atleast monthly for the first 3 months then at least every3 months in all patients prescribed weight loss medica-tions (2|QQEE)

15 If a patientrsquos response to a weight loss medicationis deemed effective (weight loss 5 of body weight at3 mo) and safe we recommend that the medication becontinued If deemed ineffective (weight loss 5 at 3mo) or if there are safety or tolerability issues at any timewe recommend that the medication be discontinued andalternative medications or referral for alternative treat-ment approaches be considered (1|QQQQ)

16 If medication for chronic obesity management isprescribed as adjunctive therapy to comprehensive life-style intervention we suggest initiating therapy with doseescalation based on efficacy and tolerability to the recom-mended dose and not exceeding the upper approved doseboundaries (2|QQEE)

17 In patients with T2DM who are overweight orobese we suggest the use of antidiabetic medications thathave additional actions to promote weight loss (such asglucagon-like peptide-1 [GLP-1] analogs or sodium-glu-cose-linked transporter-2 [SGLT-2] inhibitors) in addi-tion to the first-line agent for T2DM and obesity met-formin (2|QQQE)

18 In patients with cardiovascular disease who seekpharmacological treatment for weight loss we suggest us-

ing medications that are not sympathomimetics such aslorcaserin andor orlistat (2|QEEE)

20 Drugs that cause weight gain and somealternatives

21 We recommend weight-losing and weight-neutralmedications as first- and second-line agents in the man-agement of a patient with T2DM who is overweight orobese Clinicians should discuss possible weight effects ofglucose-lowering medications with patients and considerthe use of antihyperglycemic medications that are weightneutral or promote weight loss (1|QQQE)

22 In obese patients with T2DM requiring insulintherapy we suggest adding at least one of the followingmetformin pramlintide or GLP-1 agonists to mitigateassociated weight gain due to insulin The first-line in-sulin for this type of patient should be basal insulin Thisis preferable to using either insulin alone or insulin withsulfonylurea We also suggest that the insulin therapystrategy be considered a preferential trial of basal in-sulin prior to premixed insulins or combination insulintherapy (2|QQQE)

23 We recommend angiotensin-converting enzyme(ACE) inhibitors angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs)and calcium channel blockers rather than -adrenergicblockers as first-line therapy for hypertension in patientswith T2DM who are obese (1|QQQQ)

24 When antidepressant therapy is indicated we rec-ommend a shared decision-making process that providespatients with quantitative estimates of the expected weighteffect of the antidepressant to make an informed decisionabout drug choice Other factors that need to be taken intoconsideration include the expected length of treatment(1|QQQE)

25 We recommend using weight-neutral antipsychoticalternatives when clinically indicated rather than thosethat cause weight gain and the use of a shared decision-making process that provides patients with quantitativeestimates of the expected weight effect of the alternativetreatments to make an informed decision about drugchoice (1|QQQE)

26 We recommend considering weight gain potentialin choosing an antiepileptic drug (AED) for any given pa-tient and the use of a shared decision-making process thatprovides patients with quantitative estimates of the ex-pected weight effect of the drugs to make an informeddecision about drug choice (1|QQQE)

27 In women with a BMI 27 kgm2 with comorbidi-ties or BMI 30 kgm2 seeking contraception we suggestoral contraceptives over injectable medications due to

1 Approval in the United States is based on FDA determination Approval in Europe is basedon EMA determination

doi 101210jc2014-3415 jcemendojournalsorg 343


weight gain with injectables provided that women arewell-informed about the risks and benefits (ie oral con-traceptives are not contraindicated) (2|QEEE)

28 We suggest monitoring the weight and waist cir-cumference of patients on antiretroviral therapy due tounavoidable weight gain weight redistribution and as-sociated cardiovascular risk (2|QQQE)

29 We suggest the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflamma-tory drugs and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugswhen possible in patients with chronic inflammatory dis-ease like rheumatoid arthritis because corticosteroidscommonly produce weight gain (2|QQQE)

210 We suggest the use of antihistamines with lesscentral nervous system activity (less sedation) to limitweight gain (2|QQEE)

30 Off-label use of drugs approved for otherindications for chronic obesity management

31 We suggest against the off-label use of medica-tions approved for other disease states for the sole pur-pose of producing weight loss A trial of such therapycan be attempted in the context of research and byhealthcare providers with expertise in weight manage-ment dealing with a well-informed patient (UngradedBest Practice Recommendation)

Method of Development of Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines

The Clinical Guidelines Subcommittee (CGS) of the En-docrine Society deemed the pharmacological man-

agement of obesity a priority area in need of practiceguidelines and appointed a Task Force to formulate evi-dence-based recommendations The Task Force followedthe approach recommended by the Grading of Recom-mendations Assessment Development and Evaluation(GRADE) group an international group with expertise inthe development and implementation of evidence-basedguidelines (1) A detailed description of the gradingscheme has been published elsewhere (2) The Task Forceused the best available research evidence to develop therecommendations The Task Force also used consistentlanguage and graphical descriptions of both the strengthof a recommendation and the quality of evidence In termsof the strength of the recommendation strong recommen-dations use the phrase ldquowe recommendrdquo and the number1 and weak recommendations use the phrase ldquowe sug-gestrdquo and the number 2 Cross-filled circles indicatethe quality of the evidence such that QEEE denotes verylow quality evidence QQEE low quality QQQE mod-erate quality and QQQQ high quality The Task Force

has confidence that persons who receive care according tothe strong recommendations will derive on average moregood than harm Weak recommendations require morecareful consideration of the personrsquos circumstances val-ues and preferences to determine the best course of actionLinked to each recommendation is a description of theevidence and the values that panelists considered in mak-ing the recommendation in some instances there are re-marks a section in which panelists offer technical sugges-tions for testing conditions dosing and monitoringThese technical comments reflect the best available evi-dence applied to a typical person being treated Often thisevidence comes from the unsystematic observations of thepanelists and their values and preferences therefore theseremarks should be considered suggestions

The Endocrine Society maintains a rigorous conflict-of-interest review process for the development of clinicalpractice guidelines All Task Force members must declareany potential conflicts of interest which are reviewed be-fore they are approved to serve on the Task Force andperiodically during the development of the guideline Theconflict-of-interest forms are vetted by the CGS before themembers are approved by the Societyrsquos Council to partic-ipate on the guideline Task Force Participants in theguideline development must include a majority of individ-uals without conflicts of interest in the matter under studyParticipants with conflicts of interest may participate inthe development of the guideline but they must have dis-closed all conflicts The CGS and the Task Force havereviewed all disclosures for this guideline and resolved ormanaged all identified conflicts of interest

Conflicts of interest are defined as remuneration in anyamountfromthecommercial interest(s) intheformofgrantsresearch support consulting fees salary ownership interest(eg stocks stock options or ownership interest excludingdiversified mutual funds) honoraria or other payments forparticipation in speakersrsquo bureaus advisory boards orboards of directors or other financial benefits Completedforms are available through the Endocrine Society office

Funding for this guideline was derived solely from theEndocrineSociety and thus theTaskForce receivednofund-ing or remuneration from commercial or other entities

A systematic review was commissioned by the Endo-crine Society to quantify weight gain and weight loss as-sociated with a discrete list of drugs chosen a priori by thisguideline Task Force (3) The systematic review compareda list of 54 commonly used drugs chosen a priori by theTask Force (drugs suspected of having weight implica-tions) that were compared to placebo in randomized con-trolled trials For trials to be included the length of treat-ment had to be 30 days The outcome of interest for thereview was weight change (expressed in absolute and rel-

344 Apovian et al Guidelines on Pharmacological Management of Obesity J Clin Endocrinol Metab February 2015 100(2)342ndash362


ative terms) The Task Force also used evidence derivedfrom existing systematic reviews randomized trials andobservational studies on the management of medicationsfor other conditions that may result in weight gain Eco-nomic analyses and cost effectiveness studies were not re-viewed or considered as a basis for the recommendationsDrugs associated with weight gain and suggested alterna-tives are presented in Supplemental Table 1

In several of the recommendations we used evidencederived from randomized clinical trials about the benefitsof shared decision making in terms of improving patientsrsquoknowledge reducing decisional conflict and regret andenhancing the likelihood of patients making decisionsconsistent with their own values (4) Although there isabundant evidence for the value of shared decision makingacross several clinical scenarios specific evidence for obe-sity management is scant This highlights a limitation ofthe existing literature and poses a challenge for imple-menting a specific strategy for shared decision making inmanaging obesity

Medical management of the disease of obesityThe Task Force agrees with the opinion of prominent

medical societies that current scientific evidence supportsthe view that obesity is a disease (5)

Weight loss produces many benefits including risk fac-tor improvement prevention of disease and improve-ments in feeling and function Greater weight loss pro-duces greater benefits but modest (5 to 10) weight losssuch as that produced by lifestyle modifications and med-ications has been shown to produce significant improve-ments in many conditions (5 6)

Medications used for the management of conditionsother than obesity can contribute to or exacerbate weightgain in susceptible individuals Many of these conditionsare also associated with obesity Healthcare providers canhelp patients prevent or attenuate weight gain by appro-priately prescribing medications that would promoteweight loss or minimize weight gain when treating theseconditions Healthcare providers can help selected pa-tients successfully lose weight by appropriately prescrib-ing weight loss medications or in some cases surgical in-tervention as an adjunct to lifestyle change

This guideline will target how providers can use med-ications as an adjunct to lifestyle change therapy to pro-mote weight loss and maintenance It will also addresshow prescribers can prevent or attenuate weight gainwhen prescribing for diabetes depression and chronicdiseases often associated with obesity The evidence re-view addresses medications with a weight loss indicationas well as those medications that affect weight when pre-scribed for a nonobesity indication ie that have been as-

sociated with significant weight gain and increase in riskof comorbidities or with weight loss

Clinical encounter with the patient who isoverweight or obese

There are a number of steps a clinician should take inthe clinical encounter

bull Annual and symptom-based screening for majorchronic conditions associated with obesity in all adultpatients with a BMI of 30 kgm2 or above These includeT2DM cardiovascular disease hypertension hyperlip-idemia obstructive sleep apnea nonalcoholic fatty liverdisease osteoarthritis and major depression

bull Timely adherence to national cancer screening guide-lines with the understanding that individuals who areobese are at increased risk for many malignancies (7)

bull Identification of contributing factors including familyhistory sleep disorders disordered eating genetics andenvironmental or socioeconomic causes

bull Identification of and appropriate screening for second-ary causes of obesity (Table 1) These need not be au-tomatically screened for unless the history andor phys-ical examination suggests the diagnosis or suspicion ofthe diagnosis

bull Adherence to the AHAACCTOS Guideline for theManagement of Overweight and Obesity in Adults (8)which was updated in 2013 and includes recommen-dations for assessment and treatment with diet and ex-ercise as well as bariatric surgery for appropriatecandidates

bull Identification of medications that contribute to weightgain Prescribe drugs that are weight neutral or thatpromote weight loss when possible

bull Formulation of a treatment plan based on diet exerciseand behavior modifications as above

Rationale for pharmacological treatment ofobesity

The challenge of weight reductionIf permanent weight loss could be achieved exclusively

with behavioral reductions in food intake and increases inenergy expenditure medications for obesity would not beneeded Weight loss is difficult for most patients and thepatientrsquos desire to restrict food and energy intake is coun-teracted by adaptive biological responses to weight loss(9ndash12) The fall in energy expenditure (out of proportionto reduction in body mass) and increase in appetite that areobserved after weight loss are associated with changes ina range of hormones (12ndash14) Some of these changes rep-resent adaptive responses to weight loss and result in al-



tered physiology that promotes weight regain Otherchanges reflect improvements in dysfunctional hormonalsystems that occur as a patient moves from being obese tobeing closer to a healthy weight These latter changes un-derlie many of the health benefits of weight loss

No approved weight loss medication appears to pro-mote long-term thermogenesis These medications pro-mote weight loss through effects on appetite increasingsatiety and decreasing hunger perhaps by aiding in re-sisting food cues or by reducing caloric absorption (14)

As discussed above weight loss is usually associatedwith a reduction in total energy expenditure that is out ofproportion to changes in lean body mass the primary de-terminant of resting energy expenditure appears to persistindefinitely as long as the reduced weight is maintainedClinically this means that the individual must reduce en-ergy intake or increase energy expenditure indefinitely tosustain weight loss

Neuroendocrine dysregulation of energy intakeand energy expenditure in obesity

Signals to appetite and controlling centers within thecentral nervous systemand inparticular thehypothalamusand the brainstem come from the gut adipose tissue liverand pancreas (Figure 1) Distention of the gastrointestinaltract is communicated to the brain In the process of foodintake gut hormones are secreted that signal satiety in thehindgut primarily these include most notably peptide YY(PYY secreted in ileum and colon) and cholecystokinin(CCK in duodenum) but also gastric inhibitory polypep-tide (K cells in duodenum and jejunum) and GLP-1 (L cellsin ileum) which are primarily secreted in response to glu-cose and promote insulin release from the pancreas as wellas satiety Ghrelin is produced in the stomach and it isunique among gut hormones in that it is orexigenic andlevels increase with time since the last meal These hor-mones signal areas in the hindbrain and arcuate nucleusas do insulin and leptin Leptin is secreted from adiposetissue and circulating levels are proportional to fat massIt is an anorectic hormone which exerts its effects by in-hibiting neuropeptide YAgouti-related peptide neuronsand activating pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC)cocaineamphetamine-related transcript neurons in the arcuatenucleus resulting in decreased food intake and increasedenergy expenditure although the increase in energy ex-penditure has been disputed in leptin-deficient humanstreated with leptin (15)

Obesity in humans is almost universally associated withhigh leptin levels and failure to respond to exogenous lep-tin thus leptin analogs have not been found to be usefulso far in the treatment of obesity In humans many othercues such as reward and emotional factors play a role infood intake aside from hunger and another pathway isresponsible for reward-associated feeding behavior In-creased hunger and decreased satiety after weight loss areassociated with an increase in the 24-hour profile of cir-culating levels of the orexigenic hormone ghrelin and re-ductions in the levels of the anorexigenic hormones PYYCCK leptin and insulin These changes in appetite-re-lated hormones appear to persist for at least 1 year afterweight reduction and may remain altered indefinitely in amanner that promotes increased energy intake and ulti-mately weight regain (14 16ndash23)

Mechanisms of action of pharmacological agentsWith the exception of orlistat medications indicated

for obesity target appetite mechanisms The medicationsavailable for obesity treatment work primarily in the ar-cuate nucleus to stimulate the POMC neurons which pro-mote satiety Some of the medications discussed in Section10 are serotoninergic dopaminergic or norepinephrine-

Table 1 Causes of Obesity

Primary CausesGenetic causesMonogenic disorders

Melanocortin-4 receptor mutationLeptin deficiencyPOMC deficiency

SyndromesPrader-WilliBardet-BiedlCohenAlstroumlmFroehlich

Secondary CausesNeurological

Brain injuryBrain tumorConsequences of cranial irradiationHypothalamic obesity

EndocrineHypothyroidisma

Cushing syndromeGH deficiencyPseudohypoparathyroidism

PsychologicalDepressionb

Eating disordersDrug-Induced

Tricyclic antidepressantsOral contraceptivesAntipsychoticsAnticonvulsantsGlucocorticoidsSulfonylureasGlitazones blockers

a Controversial whether hypothyroidism causes obesity or exacerbatesobesityb Depression associated with overeating or binging



releasing agentsreuptake inhibitors (Figure 2) (24) Phen-termine is primarily a noradrenergic and possibly dopa-minergic sympathomimetic amine Lorcaserin is aserotonin agent specifically stimulating the serotonin type2c receptor (25) The combination of phentermine andtopiramate which is a neurostabilizer and antiseizuremedication seems to be additive (26) however it is un-clear how topiramate enhances appetite suppression Bu-propion is a dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake in-hibitor (27) which stimulates POMC neurons Incombination with naltrexone buproprion enhances effi-cacy due to the release of feedback inhibition of POMCneurons that naltrexone potentiates GLP-1 agonists alsoaffect the POMC neurons and cause satiety (18) Orlistatblocks absorption of 25 to 30 of fat calories and is not

appreciably absorbed systemically (28 29) Another classof medications is associated with weight loss without aneffect on appetite This class is the SGLT-2 inhibitors forT2DM which promote weight loss by preventing the re-absorption of glucose as well as water in the renal tubules(30)

10 Care of the patient who is overweight orobese

11 We recommend that diet exercise and behavioralmodification be included in all overweight and obesitymanagement approaches for BMI 25 kgm2 and thatother tools such as pharmacotherapy (BMI 27 kgm2

with comorbidity or BMI over 30 kgm2) and bariatricsurgery (BMI 35 kgm2 with comorbidity or BMI over

Figure 1 Interactions among hormonal and neural pathways that regulate food intake and body-fat mass -MSH -melanocyte-stimulatinghormone GHsR GH secretagogue receptor INSR insulin receptor LEPR leptin receptor MC4R melanocortin receptor type 4 Y1R Y1 receptorY2R Y2 receptor [Adapted from J Korner and R L Leibel To eat or not to eat - how the gut talks to the brain N Engl J Med 2003349926ndash928(24) with permission copy Massachusetts Medical Society]



40 kgm2) be used as adjuncts to behavioral modificationto reduce food intake and increase physical activity whenthis is possible Drugs may amplify adherence to behaviorchange and may improve physical functioning such thatincreased physical activity is easier in those who cannotexercise initially Patients who have a history of being un-able to successfully lose and maintain weight and who

meet label indications are candidates for weight loss med-ications (1|QQQQ) (Table 2 and Supplemental Table 1)

Evidence and relevant valuesWeight loss medications reinforce behavioral strategies

to create negative energy balance Most weight loss med-ications affect appetite and as a result promote adherence

Figure 2 Antiobesity agents and their mechanism of action AGRP Agouti-related peptide CART cocaine amphetamine-related transcriptCCK1R CCK1 receptor GLP1R GLP-1 receptor CTR calcitonin receptor D1 dopamine 1 receptor D2 dopamine 2 receptor DAT dopamineactive transporter DVC dorsal vagal complex GHSR GH secretagogue receptor LepR leptin receptor MC34R melanocortin receptor type 34MCH1R melanin-concentrating hormone 1 receptor NPY neuropeptide Y PVN paraventricular nucleus Y1Y5R Y1Y5 receptor Y2R Y2receptor Y4R Y4 receptor MSH melanocyte-stimulating hormone -OR -opioid receptor [Adapted from G W Kim et al Antiobesitypharmacotherapy new drugs and emerging targets Clin Pharmacol Ther 20149553ndash66 (25) with permission copy American Society for ClinicalPharmacology and Therapeutics

Table 2 Advantages and Disadvantages Associated with Weight Loss Medications

Drug Advantages Disadvantages

Phentermine Inexpensive ($) Side effect profileGreater weight lossa No long-term datab

Topiramatephentermine Robust weight lossa Expensive ($$$)Long-term datab Teratogen

Lorcaserin Side effect profile Expensive ($$$)Long-term datab

Orlistat prescription Nonsystemic Less weight lossa

Long term datab Side effect profileOrlistat over-the-counter Inexpensive ($) Less weight lossa

Side effect profileNatrexonebupropion Greater weight lossa Side effect profile

Food addiction Mid-level price range ($$)Long-term datab

Liraglutide Side effect profile Expensive ($$$)Long-term datab Injectable

a Less weight loss 2ndash3 greater weight loss 3ndash5 robust weight loss 5b Long term is 1ndash2 years



to the diet The medication that blocks fat absorption re-inforces avoidance of high-fat (energy-dense) foods in ad-dition to promoting malabsorption of fat calories Med-ications act to amplify the effect of the behavioral changesto consume fewer calories They do not ldquowork on theirownrdquo To get maximal efficacy obesity drugs should beused as adjuncts to lifestyle change therapy and in somecases weight loss is limited without lifestyle change What-ever baseline behavioral treatment is given the effect of thedrug will be static (33 34) Just as increasing the dose ofmedication increases weight loss increasing the intensityof behavioral modification increases weight loss (33) Pa-tients should be made aware that lifestyle changes areneeded when using a weight loss medication and that theaddition of a weight loss medication to a lifestyle programwill likely result in greater weight loss (6 35ndash38)

In making this recommendation the Task Force ac-knowledges the variation in the strength of evidence forthe different lifestyle interventions and pharmacologicalinterventions for obesity However the strong recommen-dation for reserving pharmacological interventions as anadjunct therapy also depends on values and preferenceswith an emphasis on avoiding the side effects burden andcost of medications while promoting a healthier lifestylethat has benefit beyond weight loss

12 In order to promote long-term weight maintenancewe suggest the use of approved (see Footnote 1) weight lossmedications (over no pharmacological therapy) to ame-liorate comorbidities and amplify adherence to behaviorchanges which may improve physical functioning and al-low for greater physical activity in individuals with aBMI 30 kgm2 or in individuals with a BMI of 27kgm2 and at least one associated comorbid medical con-

dition such as hypertension dyslipidemia T2DM andobstructive sleep apnea (2|QQEE)

EvidenceCaloric restriction through diet and behavior modifi-

cation has been shown to produce modest but effectiveweight loss for controlling comorbid medical problemssuch as diabetes hypertension and obstructive sleep ap-nea (39 40) (Table 3) Moreover the adjunctive use ofweight loss medication can produce even greater weightloss and cardiometabolic improvements (36 37 41ndash45)Although all of these medications and others have beenshown to be effective as adjunctive treatment none havebeen shown to be effective on their own The systematicreviews conducted to support the 2013 AHAACCTOSGuideline for theManagementofOverweight andObesityin Adults (8) evaluated the observational literature aboutthe association of various BMI cutoffs and the incidence ofdeath and cardiovascular disease That guideline adoptedthe arbitrary BMI cutpoints of 30 kgm2 (27 kgm2

with medical related comorbidity) that had been deter-mined by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)and listed on the package inserts of FDA-approved obesitymedications Our Task Force adopted these cutpoints re-alizing that they are arbitrary and only low-quality evi-dence supports associations determined by these cut-points Nevertheless we had to use cutpoints to providepatients and clinicians with specific implementable andpractical recommendations

The only medication available in the European Unionfor chronic obesity management is orlistat We encourageadditional scrutiny of medications available in the UnitedStates by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the

Table 3 Comorbid Conditions in Obesity and Evidence for Amelioration With Weight Reduction

ComorbidityImprovement AfterWeight Loss First Author Year (Ref)

T2DM Yes Cohen 2012 (132) Mingrone 2012 (133)aSchauer 2012 (134) Buchwald 2009 (135)

Hypertension Yes Ilane-Parikka 2008 (136) Phelan 2007 (137)Zanella 2006 (138)

Dyslipidemia and metabolicsyndrome

Yes Ilane-Parikka 2008 (136) Phelan 2007 (137)Zanella 2006 (138)

Cardiovascular disease Yes Wannamethee 2005 (139)NAFLD Variable outcomes Andersen 1991 (140) Huang 2005 (141)

Palmer 1990 (142) Ueno 1997 (143)Osteoarthritis Yes Christensen 2007 (144) Fransen 2004 (145)

Huang 2000 (146) Messier 2004 (147)van Gool 2005 (148)

Cancer Yes Adams 2009 (149) Sjoumlstroumlm 2009 (150)Major depression Insufficient evidenceSleep apnea Yes Kuna 2013 (151)

Abbreviation NAFLD nonalcoholic fatty liver diseasea This study showed that weight gain within the normal-weight BMI category (ie increase from 23 to 25 kgm2) increased risk of T2DM 4-fold



funding of additional long-term clinical trials in the Eu-ropean Union and elsewhere to study the safety and effi-cacy of these medications with the goal of providing ac-cess to medications for chronic obesity management topatients in need across the world

13 In patients with uncontrolled hypertension or a his-tory of heart disease we recommend against using sym-pathomimetic agents phentermine and diethylpropion(1|QQQE) (Table 4)

EvidenceThe product labels for medications approved for

chronic weight management (46ndash49) include contraindi-cations and cautions based on clinical data submissionon 1500 individuals treated with each medication be-fore approval These contraindications are detailed in Ta-ble 4 Prescribers should be familiar with these productlabels in order to avoid contraindications and to judi-ciously choose patients based on product cautions

For the sympathomimetic agents phentermine and di-ethylpropion regulatory approval was given based on asmaller clinical profile and without a cardiovascular out-comes study There is thus a lack of evidence on safety forthese products across broad populations In making astrong recommendation the panel placed a high value onavoiding harm and a lower value on potential short-termweight loss

Implementation remarksBecause phentermine and diethylpropion are associ-

ated with elevations in mean blood pressure (BP) and pulserate in treated populations we do not advocate their pre-scription in patients with a history of cardiovascular dis-ease and we suggest caution and careful monitoring inpatients with hypertension history Thus caution is ad-vised in prescribing these agents in patients with hyper-tension history of cardiac arrhythmia or seizures A se-rotonin receptor agonist such as lorcaserin would be abetter choice in a patient with these conditions

Another example is the patient with obesity and de-pression on a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)or serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI)In these patients lorcaserin would not be the best choicedue to the potential for serotonin syndrome A betterchoice would be phenterminetopiramate or phenterminealone Orlistat is likely to be safe in all instances due to itsmechanism of action Other cautionary instances are out-lined in Table 4

14 We suggest assessment of efficacy and safety atleast monthly for the first 3 months then at least every

3 months in all patients prescribed weight loss medica-tions (2|QQEE)

EvidenceDiet behavior modification and if appropriate phar-

macotherapy have been shown to be safe and effective inproducing modest but effective weight loss and ameliora-tion of comorbid medical problems To promote maxi-mum effectiveness frequent assessments are indicated toassess effectiveness of the treatment ensure accountabil-ity and monitor safety and efficacy of the weight lossmedications The more accountable patients are to weightloss programs the better the outcomes that are expectedMoreover any adverse side effects of the weight loss med-ications can be detected early and rectified (8) The AHAACCTOS Guideline for the Management of Overweightand Obesity in Adults reviewed randomized clinical trialson weight loss interventions and determined that the bestweight loss outcomes occur with frequent face-to-face vis-its (16 visits per year on average) (8 38)


EvidenceWeight loss medications do not change the underlying

physiology of weight regulation in any permanent wayTrials of weight loss medication that have used a crossoverdesign have demonstrated that the weight loss effects ofthese medications are only sustained as long as they aretaken and these same benefits occur on introducing themedication in patients previously treated with lifestylealone Historically patients and providers thought thatweight loss medications could be used to produce an initialweight loss that could subsequently be sustained by be-havioral means The available evidence does not supportthis view Much as antihypertensive medications lower BPto a new steady state with BP rising to baseline levels upondiscontinuing medication weight loss medications pro-mote weight loss to a new steady state with gradual weightgain typically occurring when medications are stopped(50 51)

16 If medication for obesity management is prescribedas adjunctive therapy to comprehensive lifestyle interven-tion we suggest initiating therapy with dose escalationbased on efficacy and tolerability to the recommended



Table 4 Pharmacotherapy for Obesity in the United States (December 2014)

Drug (Generic) Dosage Mechanism of Action

Weight Loss Above Diet

and Lifestyle Alone Mean

Weight Loss or kga

Duration of Clinical

Studies Status Common Side Effects Contraindications

Phentermine resin AdipexP

(375 mg)

375 mgd

Ionamin (30 mg)

30ndash375

mgd

Norepinephrine-releasing

agent

36 kg (79 lb) 2ndash24 wk Approved in 1960s for

short-term use

(3 mo)

Headache elevated BP elevated HR

insomnia dry mouth constipation

anxiety

Cardiovascular palpitation

tachycardia elevated BP ischemic

events

Central nervous system

overstimulation restlessness

dizziness insomnia euphoria

dysphoria tremor headache

psychosis

Gastrointestinal dryness of the mouth

unpleasant taste diarrhea

constipation other gastrointestinal

disturbances

Allergic urticaria

Endocrine impotence changes in

libido

Anxiety disorders

(agitated states)

history of heart

disease uncontrolled

hypertension

seizure MAO

inhibitors pregnancy

and breastfeeding

hyperthyroidism

glaucoma history of

drug abuse

sympathomimetic

amines

Diethylpropion Tenuate (75 mg)

75 mgd


agents

30 kg (66 lb) 6ndash52 wk FDA approved in

1960s for short-

term use (3 mo)

See phentermine resin See phentermine resin

Orlistat

prescription

(120 mg)

120 mg TID Pancreatic and gastric

lipase inhibitor

29ndash34 kg (65ndash75 lb)

29ndash34 1 y

FDA approved in 1999

for chronic weight

management

Decreased absorption of fat-soluble

vitamins steatorrhrea oily spotting

flatulence with discharge fecal

urgency oily evacuation increased

defecation fecal incontinence

Cyclosporine (taken 2 h

before or after

orlistat dose) chronic

malabsorption

syndrome

pregnancy and

breastfeeding

cholestasis

levothyroxine

warfarin

antiepileptic drugsOrlistat over-the-

counter (60 mg)

60ndash120 mg TID Pancreatic and gastric

lipase inhibitor


29ndash34 1 y


for chronic weight

management

See Orlistat prescription See Orlistat prescription

Lorcaserin (10 mg) 10 mg BID 5HT2c receptor agonist 36 kg (79 lb) 36 1 y FDA approved in 2012

for chronic weight

management

Headache nausea dry mouth

dizziness fatigue constipation

Pregnancy and

breastfeeding

Use with cautionSSRI SNRIMAOI St

Johnrsquos wort triptans

buproprion

dextromethorphanPhentermine (P)

topiramate (T)

375 mg P23

mg T ER QD

(starting dose)

75 mg P46 mg

T ER daily

(recommended

dose)

15 mg P92 mg

PT ER daily

(high dose)

GABA receptor

modulation (T) plus

norepinephrine-

releasing agent (P)

66 kg (145 lb)

(recommended dose)

66

86 kg (189 lb) (high dose)

86 1 y


for chronic weight

management

Insomnia dry mouth constipation

paraesthesia dizziness dysgeusia

Pregnancy and

breastfeeding

hyperthyroidism

glaucoma MAO

inhibitor

sympathomimetic

amines

Naltrexone

bupropion

32 mg360 mg

2 tablets QID

(high dose)

Reuptake inhibitor of

dopamine and

norepinephrine

(bupropion) and

opioid antagonist

(naltrexone)

48 1y (Ref 79) FDA approved in 2014

for chronic weight

management

Nausea constipation headache

vomiting dizziness

Uncontrolled

hypertension seizure

disorders anorexia

nervosa or bulimia

drug or alcohol

withdrawal MAO

inhibitorsLiraglutide 30 mg injectable GLP-1 agonist 58 kg 1 y (Ref 30 31) FDA approved in 2014

for chronic weight

management

Nausea vomiting pancreatitis Medullary thyroid

cancer history

multiple endocrine

neoplasia type 2

history

Abbreviations GABA -aminobutyric acid HR heart rate MAO monoamine oxidase (Ref 46ndash49)a Mean weight loss in excess of placebo as percentage of initial body weight or mean kilogram weight loss over placebo



dose and not exceeding the upper approved dose bound-aries (2|QQEE)

EvidenceFor the medications approved for long-term treatment

for obesity the recommended doses are as follows orl-istat 120 mg three times a day (TID) phenterminetopi-ramate 75 mg46 mg every day (QD) lorcaserin 10 mgtwice a day (BID) naltrexonebupropion 8 mg90 mg 2tablets BID and for liraglutide 30 mg SC QD (46ndash49)

For orlistat the drug is available over the counter at adosage of 60 mg TID This dosage has been shown toproduce greater weight loss than placebo (52) The rec-ommended prescription dosage is 120 mg TID Given thefavorable safety profile and weight loss efficacy of orlistatat 120 mg TID it is the preferred dose for prescription(47) There is no evidence from clinical trials using dosageshigher than 120 mg TID that efficacy is greater at higherdosages and prescribers should not exceed 120 mg TIDOrlistat 120 mg TID has been studied and approved fortreatment of adolescents with obesity (58ndash60)

For phenterminetopiramate extended release (ER) it isnecessary to escalate the dose when starting the medica-tion The clinical trial data support starting at a dosage of375 mg23 mg QD and maintaining this for at least 2weeks If the patient tolerates the medication an increaseto 75 mg46 mg is in order Because of the more favorabletolerability profile in clinical studies of the 75 mg46 mgdose further escalation is only recommended for patientswho have not lost 3 of their body weight at 12 weeks Inthat case the dose can be increased to 1125 mg69 mgand then to 15 mg92 mg The product label recommendsa gradual reduction of dose over 3ndash5 days because of theobservation of seizures occurring when topiramate wasstopped abruptly in patients with epilepsy (41 43 61)

For lorcaserin the recommended dosage is 10 mg BIDIn clinical trials lorcaserin 10 mg QD produced nearly asmuch weight loss as 10 mg BID (42 44 45)

Naltrexonebupropion is available in 8mg90mg com-bination tablets One tablet should be started in the morn-ing and in 1 week 1 tablet added before dinner As toler-ated the dose should be increased to 2 tablets in themorning the 3rd week and 2 tablets before the eveningmeal the 4th week to the maximum of 2 tablets twice dailyIf side effects such as nausea develop during dose escala-tion the dose should not be increased further until toler-ated If a patient has not lost more than 5 of body weightat 12 weeks naltrexonebupropion should be discontin-ued (79 93)

Liraglutide should be initiated at a dose of 06 mg dailyby SC injection The dose can be increased by 06 mg perweek up to a maximum of 30 mg If side effects such as

nausea develop during dose escalation the dose shouldnot be increased further until tolerated (31)

There are no comparative data of different doses ofphentermine and other sympathomimetics used as a singleagent Therefore the once-daily doses of 30 mg phenter-mine (375 mg as resin) or 75 mg tenuate should not beexceeded

17 In patients with T2DM who are overweight orobese we suggest the use of antidiabetic medications thathave additional actions to promote weight loss (such asGLP-1 analogs or SGLT-2 inhibitors) in addition to thefirst-line agent for T2DM and obesity metformin (63)(2|QQQE)

EvidenceIndividuals with obesity and T2DM may have the dual

benefit of weight loss and glycemic control while pre-scribed a regimen including one or more of three currentlyavailable drug classes metformin the GLP-1 agonists (ex-enatide liraglutide) and the new class of SGLT-2 inhib-itors For the goal of clinically significant weight loss trialscomparing GLP-1 agonists and other antihyperglycemicagents have shown weight loss in some subjects in higherranges between 55 and 8 kg (62) Although other agentsincluding metformin and SGLT-2 inhibitors producemore modest weight loss ie in the 1- to 3-kg range in moststudies these agents have not been studied in the setting ofconcomitant behavioral therapy and the full weight losspotential is therefore not yet known In summary becausea subset of diabetes patients may have substantial weightloss on certain diabetes agents that also lower blood glu-cose most patients with diabetes should try one or moreof these before being considered for additional medica-tions designed for the specific goal of weight loss The mostsubstantial evidence supports a trial of GLP-1 agonists (seerecommendation 21)

18 In patients with cardiovascular disease who seekpharmacological treatment for weight loss we suggest us-ing medications that are not sympathomimetics such aslorcarserin andor orlistat (2|QEEE)

EvidenceBecause patients with a prior history of cardiovascular

disease may be susceptible to sympathetic stimulationagents without cardiovascular signals (increased BP andpulse) should be used preferentially For patients with es-tablished cardiovascular disease who require medicationfor weight loss orlistat and lorcaserin should be usedThese drugs have a lower risk of increased BP than phen-termine and topiramate ER Lorcaserin showed a reduc-



tion in pulse and BP greater than placebo in randomizedplacebo-controlled trials (44)


A variety of prescription medications have been asso-ciated with weight gain Drug-induced weight gain is apreventable cause of obesity For all patients and partic-ularly for patients who have a BMI 27 kgm2 with co-morbidities or BMI 30 kgm2 the desired level of clinicalefficacy for a chosen therapy should be balanced againstside effects including the likelihood of weight gain Incases where there are no acceptable therapeutic alterna-tives the minimal dose required to produce clinical effi-cacy may prevent drug-induced weight gain Patientsrsquo ini-tial weight status the presence of risk factors forcardiovascular disease diabetes and other obesity-relatedhealth complications as well as the benefits of pharma-cological therapies warrant careful consideration whenprescribing a first-line therapy or change in medication

21 We recommend weight-losing and weight-neutralmedications as first- and second-line agents in the man-agement of a patient with T2DM who is overweight orobese (1|QQQE)

EvidenceThe effect of metformin for promoting mild weight loss

is likely due to multiple mechanisms (63) However inanimal models metformin mediates a phenotypic shiftaway from lipid accretion through AMP-activated ProteinKinase-Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase-Sirtuin1-mediated changes in metabolism supporting treatmentfor obesity (64) GLP-1 agonists such as exenatide andliraglutide have also been shown to promote mild weightloss Pramlintide is an amylin analog that promotes weightloss by increasing satiety and decreasing food intake (6566) Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-4) inhibitors appear tobe weight neutral or may lead to minimal weight change-Glucosidase inhibitors such as acarbose and miglitolmay be weight neutral or lead to a small change in weight(152 153)

Clinicians should discuss possible weight effects of glu-cose-lowering medications with patients and consider theuse of antihyperglycemic medications that are weight neu-tral or promote weight loss

Weight gain is often associated with many diabetestherapies Patients can gain as much as 10 kg in a relativelyshort period (3 to 6 mo) after initiating treatment withinsulin sulfonylureas and other insulin secretagogues likeglitinides and thiazolidinediones Participants in the Dia-betes Prevention Program with impaired glucose tolerancewho took metformin (850 mg BID) lost 21 kg compared

with a weight loss of 01 kg in the placebo group (69) Arecent study comparing sitagliptin plus metformin withpioglitazone in drug-naive patients with T2DM showedthat the sitagliptin-metformin combination resulted inweight loss (14 kg) whereas pioglitazone led to weightgain (30 kg) (70) A retrospective analysis of exenatide(n 6280) sitagliptin (n 5861) and insulin (n 32 398) indicated that exenatide-treated subjects lost anaverage of 30 kg sitagliptin-treated subjects lost 11 kgand insulin-treated subjects gained 06 kg (71)

In a 1-year trial comparing two doses of liraglutide (12and 18 mg) with glimepiride 8 mg subjects lost 205 and245 kg in the 12- and 18-mg groups respectively com-pared with a 112-kg weight gain in the glimepiride groupGlycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) significantly (P 0014)decreased by 084 with liraglutide 12 mg and by 114with liraglutide 18 mg (P 0001) compared to 051with glimepiride (72) An analysis of 17 randomized pla-cebo-controlled trials showed that all GLP-1 agonists re-duced HbA1c levels by about 1 (62) The DPP-4 inhib-itors sitagliptin and vildagliptin have also been shown ina meta-analysis of 25 studies to lower HbA1c by approx-imately 07 and 06 respectively in comparison withplacebo (73)

A recent review of direct comparisons with active glu-cose-lowering agents in drug-naive patients demonstratedthat DPP-4 inhibitors reduce HbA1c slightly less than met-formin (by approximately 028) and provide similarglucose-lowering effects as a thiazolidinedione DPP-4 in-hibitors have better gastrointestinal tolerability than met-formin yet are weight neutral (74 75) Another meta-anal-ysis found that an increase in body weight (18 to 30 kg)was observed with most second-line therapies the excep-tions being DPP-4 inhibitors -glucosidase inhibitorsand GLP-1 analogs (06 to 18 kg) (76) Pramlintideindicated as an adjunct to insulin may also aid with weightloss A meta-analysis demonstrated a weight loss of 257kg for those taking pramlintide vs the control groups (77)

The SGLT-2 inhibitors dapagliflozin and canagliflozinare a new class of antidiabetic drugs that reduce renalglucose reabsorption in the proximal convoluted tubuleleading to increased urinary glucose excretion (78) A re-cent systematic review and meta-analysis (79) looks at notonly the effect of these medications on glycemic indices butalso their effects on body weight Compared with placebothe mean percentage change in body weight from baselinein eight studies of 12 weeks comparing the SGLT-2inhibitor to placebo was 237 (95 confidence inter-val [CI] 273 to 202) Canagliflozin appears to pro-duce slightly more weight loss on average because threestudies with dapagliflozin vs placebo showed mean lossof 206 of initial body weight (95 CI 238 to



174) and five studies of canagliflozin vs placeboshowed 261 loss (95 CI 309 to 213) how-ever this was not statistically significant This analysismay underestimate the weight loss effects of these drugsbecause studies of 12 weeks were included In 52-weekobservations there is no weight regain after maximal lossat 24 weeks

In addition because weight-sparing medications areunique in that they do not independently cause hypogly-cemia they have a lower potential for hindering an exer-cise program Exercise adjustment is generally necessaryonly with insulin and with medications that can promoteendogenous insulin secretion despite decreasing glucoselevels such as the sulfonylurea and glinide classes ofagents (80) Hence prioritizing metformin incretin-basedmedications and SGLT-2s as therapeutic strategies canreduce exercise-related hypoglycemia and potentially in-crease the safety and efficacy of exercise in patients withdiabetes thus supporting this important weight-reductionstrategy (67 68)

22 In obese patients with T2DM requiring insulintherapy we suggest adding at least one of the followingmetformin pramlintide or GLP-1 agonists to mitigate as-sociated weight gain due to insulin The first-line insulinfor this type of patient should be basal insulin This ispreferable to using either insulin alone or insulin with asulfonylurea We also suggest that the insulin therapystrategy be considered a preferential trial of basal insulinprior to premixed insulins or combination insulin therapy(2|QQQE)

EvidenceInsulin remains the most effective agent to control se-

rum glucose (81) However multiple large studies typi-cally show weight gain associated with insulin use eitheras monotherapy or in combination with oral antidiabeticagents (82ndash85) Treatment with both metformin and in-sulin or when metformin is prescribed in addition to aninsulin program yields similar glycemic benefit to insulinalone without excessive additional weight gain as shownby meta-analyses and randomized trials (86ndash88)

Amylin analogs are FDA approved for use in combi-nation with existing insulin treatment A dose-findingstudy with pramlintide added to a variety of insulin regimensshowed weight loss (14 kg) in treatment groups (89) withHbA1c reductions of 062 to 068 in the 120-g dosegroup Additionally weight gain was prevented when pram-lintide was added to the basal insulins glargine or detemirOther studies have found more substantial weight loss ofover 3 kg with the use of pramlintide (90)

Other weight-sparing regimens have been studied in-cluding the combination of basal insulin with the weight-

neutral DPP-4 inhibitor sitagliptin (91) and weight-reduc-ing combination therapy with liraglutide and metforminBuse et al (92) investigated the addition of exenatide orplacebo to regimens of insulin glargine alone or in com-bination with metformin or pioglitazone or both in adultT2DM patients with HbA1c of 71 to 105 Despitesuperior HbA1c reduction weight also decreased by 18kg in the exenatide group compared with an increase of10 kg in the placebo group (between-group difference27 kg 95 CI 37 to 17)

Finally some weight benefits have been seen with thebasal insulin analogs relative to biphasic and prandial in-sulin analog regimens The Treating To Target in Type 2Diabetes trial in patients receiving metformin sulfonyl-urea compared the initiation of basal insulin detemir(twice daily if required) to that of biphasic insulin aspartBID or prandial insulin aspart TID Basal insulin use wasassociated with the least weight gain at 1 year (19 vs47 vs 57 kg detemir vs biphasic vs prandial respec-tively) (93) and the weight advantage persisted during the3-year trial (94)

23 We recommend ACE inhibitors ARBs and calciumchannel blockers rather than -adrenergic blockers asfirst-line therapy for hypertension in patients with T2DMwho are obese (1|QQQQ)

EvidenceAngiotensin is overexpressed in obesity directly con-

tributing to obesity-related hypertension providing sup-port for the use of an ACE inhibitor as a first-line agentCalcium channel blockers are also effective in the treat-ment of obesity-related hypertension and have not beenassociated with weight gain or adverse changes in lipidsACE inhibitors and ARBs have not been associated withweight gain or insulin resistance and provide renal pro-tection in diabetes (95)

If required selective or nonselective -blockerswith a vasodilating component such as carvedilol andnebivolol are recommended because these agents ap-pear to have less weight gain potential and less of animpact on glucose and lipid metabolism than other non-selective -blockers (96 97)

A study in patients taking metoprolol tartrate com-pared with those taking carvedilol for hypertensionshowed a mean weight gain of 119 kg suggesting thatweight gain is not a class effect of the -adrenergic block-ers (98) A meta-analysis of body weight changes in a seriesof randomized controlled hypertension trials of at least6-month duration showed that body weight was higher inthe -blocker group with a median difference of 12 kgbetween the -blocker group and the control group (97)The Second Australian National Blood Pressure Trial re-



ported slightly better cardiovascular outcomes in hyper-tensive men treated with a regimen that began with anACE inhibitor compared with a regimen starting with adiuretic (95)


EvidenceThe antidepressants vary considerably with respect to

their long-term weight gain potential Serretti and Man-delli (99) evaluated the relative risk of weight gain asso-ciated with drugs within the major classes of antidepres-sant medications in a recent meta-analysis Paroxetine isconsidered to be the SSRI associated with the greatestlong-term increase in body weight (100) amitriptyline isthe most potent inducer of weight gain among the tricyclicantidepressants (99) and mirtazapine (a noradrenergicand specific serotoninergic antidepressant) is also associ-ated with weight gain in the long term (101) Other specifictricyclics that have been associated with weight gain in-clude nortriptyline (102) whereas the effect of imipramineseems to be neutral (99) SSRIs such as fluoxetine andsertraline have been associated with weight loss duringacute treatment (4ndash12 wk) and with weight neutrality inthe maintenance (4 mo) phase (99) No significant effectcould be observed for citalopram or escitalopram on bodyweight (99) Among the serotonin and norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitors venlafaxine and duloxetine have beenreported to slightly increase body weight over long-termtreatment although long-term data for venlafaxine arescarce (99) Bupropion selectively inhibits reuptake of do-pamine and to a lesser extent norepinephrine It is theonly antidepressant that consistently causes weight loss(103) It was originally approved both for treating depres-sion and for inducing smoking cessation During clinicaltrials it suppressed appetite and food cravings and signif-icantly decreased body weight (103) The commissionedsystematic review accompanying this guideline (3) wasonly able to demonstrate weight gain with amitriptyline(18 kg) and mirtazapine (15 kg) and weight loss withbupropion (13 kg) and fluoxetine (13 kg) The evi-dence for weight changes with other antidepressants wasof lower quality

25 We recommend using weight-neutral antipsychoticalternatives when clinically indicated rather than thosethat cause weight gain and the use of a shared decision-

making process that provides patients with quantitativeestimates of the expected weight effect of the alternativetreatments to make an informed decision about drugchoice (1|QQQE)

EvidenceAlthough better tolerated than the older antipsychot-

ics many of the new atypical antipsychotic agents haveweight gain as a side effect (104) This weight gain is ofclinical concern because it impedes patient complianceand has deleterious health consequences (104 105) in pa-tients who are often overweight or obese to begin withThe differential effect of atypical antipsychotics on hista-mine (H1) receptors anticholinergic effects and serotonintype 2C antagonistic effects may explain differences inweight gain among the drugs Henderson et al (106) dem-onstrated that weight gain associated with clozapine treat-ment continued for as long as 46 months and was accom-panied by a significant increase in triglyceride levels and a37 increase in the incidence of T2DM over the 5-yearperiod of observation A randomized trial investigatingthe effectiveness of five antipsychotic medications foundthat a weight gain of 7 from baseline occurred in 30of those taking olanzapine 16 for quetiapine 14 forrisperidone 12 for perphenazine and 7 of those tak-ing ziprasidone (107) Allison and Casey (104) noted thatpatients lost weight when switched from olanzapine toziprasidone and this weight loss was associated with im-provements in their serum lipid profile and glucose toler-ance In a 6-week double-blind trial patients were ran-domly assigned to receive ziprasidone (n 136) orolanzapine (n 133) Body weight increased significantlyin those taking olanzapine (36 kg) compared with thosetaking ziprasidone (10 kg) (108) A review of nine ran-domized controlled trials comparing ziprasidone withamisulpride clozapine olanzapine quetiapine and ris-peridone showed that ziprasidone produced less weightgain than olanzapine (five RCTs n 1659 mean differ-ence 382 95 CI 469 to 296) quetiapine (tworandomized controlled trials [RCTs] n 754 relativerisk 045 95 CI 028 to 074) or risperidone (threeRCTs n 1063 relative risk 049 95 CI 033 to074) Ziprasidone was also associated with less choles-terol increase than olanzapine quetiapine and risperi-done (109) Finally a review of 34 trials of antipsychoticsin youth with psychotic and bipolar disorders found thatweight gain ranged from 38 to 162 kg with olanzapine09 to 95 kg with clozapine 19 to 72 kg with risperi-done 23 to 61 kg with quetiapine and 0 to 44 kg witharipiprazole (110) Despite the variable effects on weightgain among the antipsychotic agents the prediabetes ef-



fect may be similar via weight-independent mechanisms(111)

26 We recommend considering weight gain potentialin choosing an AED for any given patient and the use ofa shared decision-making process that provides patientswith quantitative estimates of the expected weight effect ofthe drugs to make an informed decision about drug choice(1|QQQE)

EvidenceAEDs associated with weight loss are felbamate topi-

ramate and zonisamide AEDs associated with weightgain are gabapentin pregabalin valproic acid vigabatrinand carbamazepine Weight-neutral AEDs are lam-otrigine levetiracetam and phenytoin In clinical practiceit is critical to weigh patients regularly and AED selectionshould be based on each patientrsquos profile without sacri-ficing therapeutic efficacy (112)

Valproic acid has been shown to cause weight gain inboth adults and children (113) A retrospective study oflong-term weight gain in adult epileptic patients on val-proic acid mono- or polytherapy showed that mild-to-moderate weight gain (5 to 10 of baseline weight) wasshown in 24 of patients whereas marked weight gain(10 gain of baseline weight) was shown in 47 ofpatients (114) A study of patients taking gabapentin for12 months or more showed that of 44 patients 57gained more than 5 of their baseline body weight ofthese 10 patients (23) gained more than 10 of theirbaseline weight (115) Our commissioned systematic re-view (3) suggested weight gain with gabapentin (22 kgafter 15 mo of use) and divalproex (relative risk for weightgain 28 95 CI 130 602) Carbamazepine is an olderAED and has also been associated with weight gain al-though not as significant as valproic acid or gabapentin(116) A study of 66 patients taking AEDs showed that667 of those on carbamazepine had gained an averageof 15 kg at a 6- to 8-month follow-up visit (117)

27 In women with a BMI 27 kgm2 with comorbidi-ties or BMI 30 kgm2 seeking contraception we suggestoral contraceptives over injectable medications due toweight gain with injectables provided that women arewell-informed about the risks and benefits (ie oral con-traceptives are not contraindicated) (2|QEEE)

EvidenceContraceptive drugs are available in different dosages

and formulations and are composed of progestins alone orin combination with estrogens Some progestins have an-drogenicantiandrogenic properties The research on con-traceptives and weight gain is conflicting and the studies

conducted so far are difficult to compare because of thedifferent formulations of contraceptives containing vari-able doses of estrogens and with the progestins havingdifferent androgenicantiandrogenic profiles Moreoverrandomized controlled trials comparing hormonal con-traceptive methods with a placebo usually raise ethicalissues As recently documented by Gallo et al (118) onlyfour trials included a placebo group or no interventiongroup and no evidence has been found to support theassociation between combination (estrogen plus a proges-tin) hormonal contraception and weight change Inaddition the same authors by examining 79 trials of com-bination contraceptives concluded that no substantialdifference in weight could be found Moreover discon-tinuation of combination contraceptives because ofweight change did not differ between groups where thiswas studied (118)

There is limited evidence of weight gain when usingprogestin-only contraceptives Mean gain was less than 2kg for most studies up to 12 months (119) However itshould be noted that most of the trials were conducted innormal-weight women and excluded obese subjects

RemarksSelected studies have reported an increase in contra-

ceptive failure in women with a BMI 27 kgm2 Data onthis issue are conflicting but should be discussed with theappropriate patients on an individual basis


EvidenceTreatments for human immunodeficiency disease in-

clude administration of antiretroviral therapy and pro-tease inhibitors Although effective for suppressing HIVviral activity which should be associated with appropriateweight gain such treatments are associated with increaseddeposition of visceral adipose tissue (120) and lipodystro-phy (121) One study of 10 HIV patients treated withprotease inhibitor-containing regimens found that pa-tients gained an average of 86 kg (P 006) after 6months (120)




EvidenceWhen possible chronic steroid therapy should be

avoided in the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseaseto avoid weight gain in individuals who are overweight orobese Weight gain and its effects on comorbidities shouldbe considered among the commonly known side effects ofglucocorticoid therapy This is particularly important inrheumatic diseases because for example obesity in thesetting of osteoarthritis leads to more severe disability andreduced exercise capacity ambulatory capacity and qual-ity of life (122) A systematic review reported that basedon data from four RCTs in rheumatoid arthritis gluco-corticoids cause a weight increase of 4 to 8 (123 124)An additional study showed that when compared withsulfasalazine glucocorticoid therapy was associated witha 17-kg weight gain after 1 year of treatment (125 126)and another showed a 20-kg weight gain after 24 weeksin patients taking prednisone (127)


EvidenceResearch is inconclusive regarding differences in the

weight gain potential of sedating vs nonsedating antihis-tamines because weight has rarely been an outcome instudies of antihistamines but it appears that the morepotent the antihistamine the greater the potential forweight gain (128) A recent study demonstrated that theodds ratio for being overweight was increased in prescrip-tion H1 antihistamine users (129) Furthermore a studyusing data from the 2005ndash2006 National Health and Nu-trition Examination Survey found that prescription H1antihistamine users had a significantly higher weightwaist circumference and insulin concentration thanmatched controls (129)



EvidenceA variety of drug classes approved for other uses have

been utilized off-label by some prescribers to promoteweight loss in patients who are obese Categories of drugsused may include the antiseizure medication topiramate as

well as zonisamide metformin GLP-1 agonists such asexenatide and liraglutide the antidepressant bupropionas well as drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disordersuch as methylphenidate and thyroid hormones Combi-nation treatments of these drugs also represent off-labeluse although they have been utilized by some practitio-ners Physicians without expertise in weight managementor endocrinology are advised against prescribing off-labelmedications

If a provider chooses to prescribe a medication forweight loss that is not FDA approved for this indication oris not approved for chronic administration at minimumthey should advise patients that this approach has not beenevaluated for safety and efficacy and is not approved bythe FDA This discussion as well as details of the risks andbenefits of the treatment approach that were presented tothe patient should be documented in the medical recordThe provider should discuss medications that are FDAapproved for weight loss with the patient and documentwhy an off-label medication was chosen over one of thesePractices such as selling weight loss medications out of theoffice should be avoided because they could be interpretedas representing a conflict of interest for the provider

Long-term prescribing of phentermineAlthough phentermine is FDA approved for weight

loss it is not approved for long-term use This presents aconundrum for clinicians because it is clear that weightregain will likely occur once the medication is stoppedOne approach that has been tried to avoid this situation isintermittent therapy (130) Although this approach ap-pears to work and might be appropriate when a patient isintermittently exposed to environmental factors that pro-mote weight gain it is not a logical way to prescribe givenwhat is understood about the effects of weight loss med-ications on weight regulation The question then iswhether or not it is reasonable to prescribe phentermineoff-label long term In making this decision with a patientdirection and guidance provided by State Medical Boardsand local laws always take precedence However in themany locations where these sources have not providedclear advice clinicians are left to make their own bestprofessional judgments

Phentermine is currently the most widely prescribedweight loss medication and it is likely that much of thisprescribing is off label This is likely a reflection of the lowcost of phentermine as compared to other weight loss med-ications There currently are no long-term data on safetyor efficacy although recent data on 269 patients treatedlong term with phentermine suggest that the addictionpotential is low (131) In addition recent data on singleand combination agents for weight loss document phen-



termine 15 mg alone as able to induce over 7 weight lossat 6 months (26) There currently is minimal evidence ofany serious long-term side effects when phentermine isused alone for weight loss Given the wide clinical pre-scribing of phentermine for more than 20 years and thelack of evidence of serious side effects even in the absenceof long-term controlled safety and efficacy data it seemsreasonable for clinicians to prescribe phentermine longterm as long as the patient 1) has no evidence of seriouscardiovascular disease 2) does not have serious psychiat-ric disease or a history of substance abuse 3) has beeninformed about weight loss medications that are FDA ap-proved for long-term use and told that these have beendocumented to be safe and effective whereas phenterminehas not 4) does not demonstrate a clinically significantincrease in pulse or BP when taking phentermine and 5)demonstrates a significant weight loss while using themedication These aspects of care should be documentedin the patientrsquos medical record and the off-label nature ofthe prescribing should be documented at each visit Med-ication should be started at 75 or 15 mgd initially andonly increased if the patient is not achieving clinically sig-nificant weight loss Patients should be followed at leastmonthly during dose escalation and then at least every 3months when on a stable dose

Acknowledgments

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to TheEndocrine Society 2055 L Street NW Suite 600 WashingtonDC 20036 E-mail govt-profendocrineorg Telephone 202-971-3636 Address all commercial reprint requests for orders101 and more to httpswwwendocrineorgcorporate-relationscommercial-reprints Address all reprint requests for orders for 100or fewer to Society Services Telephone 202-971-3636 E-mailsocietyservicesendocrineorg or Fax 202-736-9705

Co-sponsoring Associations European Society of Endocri-nology and The Obesity Society

Disclosure Summary The authors have nothing to declare

Financial Disclosures of the Task Force

Caroline M Apovian MD (chair)mdashFinancial or BusinessOrganizational Interests none declared Significant Fi-nancial Interest or Leadership Position Zafgen IncMYOS Corporation Eisai Vivus Orexigen TheraputicsTakeda NIH grantee or reviewer Louis J Aronne MDFACPmdashFinancial or BusinessOrganizational InterestsAmerican Board of Obesity Medicine Significant Finan-cial Interest or Leadership Position Jamieson Laborato-ries Pfizer Inc Healthcare Research Consulting Group

Marwood Group Novo Nordisk AS Eisai Inc RhythmJohnson amp Johnson Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc GI Dy-namics Zafgen Inc GLG VIVUS Inc MYOS Corpora-tion and BMIQ Daniel H Bessesen MDmdashFinancial orBusinessOrganizational Interests The Obesity SocietyNIH Grantee and Reviewer PCORI contract recipientEnteromedics Inc Significant Financial Interest or Lead-ership Position none declared Marie E McDonnellMDmdashFinancial or BusinessOrganizational Interestsnone declared Significant Financial Interest or Leader-ship Position none declared M Hassan Murad MDMPHmdashFinancial or BusinessOrganizational InterestsMayo Clinic Division of Preventive Medicine SignificantFinancial Interest or Leadership Position none declaredUberto Pagotto MD PhDmdashFinancial or BusinessOrga-nizational Interests none declared Significant FinancialInterest or Leadership Position none declared DonnaRyan MDmdashFinancial or BusinessOrganizational Inter-ests The Obesity Society Significant Financial Interest orLeadership Position Vivus Eisai Eisai Inc JanssenNovo Nordisk Takeda Scientific Intake Christopher DStill DO FACN FACPmdashFinancial or BusinessOrgani-zational Interests Obesity Action Coalition AmericanBoard of Physician Nutrition Specialists (ABPNS BoardMember) Significant Financial Interest or Leadership Po-sition none declared

Evidence-based reviews for this guideline were pre-pared under contract with the Endocrine Society

References

1 Atkins D Best D Briss PA et al Grading quality of evidence andstrength of recommendations BMJ 20043281490

2 Swiglo BA Murad MH Schuumlnemann HJ et al A case for clarityconsistency and helpfulness state-of-the-art clinical practiceguidelines in endocrinology using the grading of recommendationsassessment development and evaluation system J Clin EndocrinolMetab 200893666ndash673

3 Domecq JP Prutsky G Leppin A et al Drugs commonly associatedwith weight change a systematic review and meta-analysis J ClinEndocrinol Metab 2015100363-370

4 Stacey D Leacutegareacute F Col NF et al Decision aids for people facinghealth treatment or screening decisions Cochrane Database SystRev 20141CD001431

5 American Medical Association Policy H-440842 Recognition ofObesity as a Disease 2013

6 Allison DB Downey M Atkinson RL et al Obesity as a diseasea white paper on evidence and arguments commissioned by theCouncil of the Obesity Society Obesity (Silver Spring) 2008161161ndash1177

7 Calle EE Rodriguez C Walker-Thurmond K Thun MJ Over-weight obesity and mortality from cancer in a prospectively stud-ied cohort of US adults N Engl J Med 2003348(17)1625ndash1638

8 Jensen MD Ryan DH Apovian CM et al 2013 AHAACCTOSguideline for the management of overweight and obesity in adultsa report of the American College of CardiologyAmerican Heart



Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines and The ObesitySociety Circulation 2014129(25 suppl 2)S102ndashS138

9 Rosenbaum M Goldsmith R Bloomfield D et al Low-dose leptinreverses skeletal muscle autonomic and neuroendocrine adapta-tions to maintenance of reduced weight J Clin Invest 20051153579ndash3586

10 Hinkle W Cordell M Leibel R Rosenbaum M Hirsch J Effects ofreduced weight maintenance and leptin repletion on functionalconnectivity of the hypothalamus in obese humans PLoS One20138e59114

11 Goldsmith R Joanisse DR Gallagher D et al Effects of experi-mental weight perturbation on skeletal muscle work efficiency fuelutilization and biochemistry in human subjects Am J PhysiolRegul Integr Comp Physiol 2010298R79ndashR88

12 Rosenbaum M Hirsch J Gallagher DA Leibel RL Long-termpersistence of adaptive thermogenesis in subjects who have main-tained a reduced body weight Am J Clin Nutr 200888906ndash912

13 Pasman WJ Saris WH Muls E Vansant G Westerterp-PlantengaMS Effect of exercise training on long-term weight maintenance inweight-reduced men Metabolism 199948(1)15ndash21

14 Sumithran P Prendergast LA Delbridge E et al Long-term per-sistence of hormonal adaptations to weight loss N Engl J Med20113651597ndash1604

15 Farooqi IS Wangensteen T Collins S et al Clinical and moleculargenetic spectrum of congenital deficiency of the leptin receptorN Engl J Med 2007356(3)237ndash247

16 Leibel RL Molecular physiology of weight regulation in mice andhumans Int J Obes (Lond) 200832(suppl 7)S98ndashS108

17 Yu JH Kim MS Molecular mechanisms of appetite regulationDiabetes Metab J 201236391ndash398

18 Morton GJ Cummings DE Baskin DG Barsh GS Schwartz MWCentral nervous system control of food intake and body weightNature 2006443289ndash295

19 Stahl SM Impulsivity compulsivity and addiction In Stahlrsquos Es-sential Psychopharmacology 4th ed New York NY CambridgeUniversity Press 2013537ndash575

20 Lutter M Nestler EJ Homeostatic and hedonic signals interact inthe regulation of food intake J Nutr 2009139629ndash632

21 Volkow ND Wang GJ Tomasi D Baler RD Obesity and addic-tion neurobiological overlaps Obes Rev 2013142ndash18

22 Mendieta-Zeroacuten H Loacutepez M Dieacuteguez C Gastrointestinal peptidescontrolling body weight homeostasis Gen Comp Endocrinol2008155481ndash495

23 Cone RD Anatomy and regulation of the central melanocortinsystem Nat Neurosci 20058571ndash578

24 Korner J Leibel RL To eat or not to eat - how the gut talks to thebrain N Engl J Med 2003349926ndash928

25 Kim GW Lin JE Blomain ES Waldman SA Antiobesity pharma-cotherapy new drugs and emerging targets Clin Pharmacol Ther20149553ndash66

26 Aronne LJ Wadden TA Peterson C Winslow D Odeh S GaddeKM Evaluation of phentermine and topiramate versus phenter-minetopiramate extended-release in obese adults Obesity (SilverSpring) 2013212163ndash2171

27 Carroll FI Blough BE Mascarella SW Navarro HA Lukas RJDamaj MI Bupropion and bupropion analogs as treatments forCNS disorders Adv Pharmacol 201469177ndash216

28 Davidson MH Hauptman J DiGirolamo M et al Weight controland risk factor reduction in obese subjects treated for 2 years withorlistat a randomized controlled trial JAMA 1999281235ndash242

29 Torgerson JS Hauptman J Boldrin MN Sjoumlstroumlm L XENical inthe prevention of diabetes in obese subjects (XENDOS) study arandomized study of orlistat as an adjunct to lifestyle changes forthe prevention of type 2 diabetes in obese patients Diabetes Care200427(1)155ndash161

30 Wadden TA Hollander P Klein S et al Weight maintenance andadditional weight loss with liraglutide after low-calorie-diet-in-

duced weight loss the SCALE Maintenance randomized study IntJ Obes (Lond) 2013371443ndash1451

31 Astrup A Carraro R Finer N et al Safety tolerability and sus-tained weight loss over 2 years with the once-daily human GLP-1analog liraglutide Int J Obes (Lond) [Errata (2012) 36890 and(2013) 37322] 201236843ndash854

32 Vasilakou D Karagiannis T Athanasiadou E et al Sodium-glu-cose cotransporter 2 inhibitors for type 2 diabetes a systematicreview and meta-analysis Ann Intern Med 2013159262ndash274

33 Wadden TA Berkowitz RI Sarwer DB Prus-Wisniewski R Stein-berg C Benefits of lifestyle modification in the pharmacologictreatment of obesity a randomized trial Arch Intern Med 2001161218ndash227

34 Yanovski SZ Yanovski JA Long-term drug treatment for obesitya systematic and clinical review JAMA 201431174ndash86

35 Avenell A Brown TJ McGee MA et al What interventions shouldwe add to weight reducing diets in adults with obesity A systematicreview of randomized controlled trials of adding drug therapyexercise behaviour therapy or combinations of these interventionsJ Hum Nutr Diet 200417293ndash316

36 Wadden TA Berkowitz RI Womble LG et al Randomized trialof lifestyle modification and pharmacotherapy for obesity N EnglJ Med 20053532111ndash2120

37 Wadden TA Foreyt JP Foster GD et al Weight loss with naltrex-one SRbupropion SR combination therapy as an adjunct to be-havior modification the COR-BMOD trial Obesity (SilverSpring) 201119110ndash120

38 Tuomilehto J Lindstroumlm J Eriksson JG et al Prevention of type2 diabetes mellitus by changes in lifestyle among subjects withimpaired glucose tolerance N Engl J Med 20013441343ndash1350

39 Hamman RF Wing RR Edelstein SL et al Effect of weight losswith lifestyle intervention on risk of diabetes Diabetes Care 2006292102ndash2107

40 Unick JL Beavers D Jakicic JM et al Effectiveness of lifestyleinterventions for individuals with severe obesity and type 2 diabe-tes results from the Look AHEAD trial Diabetes Care 2011342152ndash2157

41 Garvey WT Ryan DH Look M et al Two-year sustained weightloss and metabolic benefits with controlled-release phenterminetopiramate in obese and overweight adults (SEQUEL) a random-ized placebo-controlled phase 3 extension study Am J Clin Nutr201295297ndash308

42 Fidler MC Sanchez M Raether B et al A one-year randomizedtrial of lorcaserin for weight loss in obese and overweight adultsthe BLOSSOM trial J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2011963067ndash3077

43 Gadde KM Allison DB Ryan DH et al Effects of low-dose con-trolled-release phentermine plus topiramate combination onweight and associated comorbidities in overweight and obeseadults (CONQUER) a randomised placebo-controlled phase 3trial Lancet 20113771341ndash1352

44 Smith SR Weissman NJ Anderson CM et al Multicenter place-bo-controlled trial of lorcaserin for weight management N EnglJ Med 2010363245ndash256

45 OrsquoNeil PM Smith SR Weissman NJ et al Randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial of lorcaserin for weight loss in type 2 dia-betes mellitus the BLOOM-DM study Obesity (Silver Spring)2012201426ndash1436

46 Qsymia (phentermine and topiramate extended-release) [prescribing in-formation] Mountain View CA Vivus Inc httpwwwqsymiacompdfprescribing-informationpdf Accessed July 2 2014

47 Xenical (orlistat) [prescribing information] South San FranciscoCA Genentech USA Inc httpwwwgenecomdownloadpdfxenical_prescribingpdf Accessed July 2 2014

48 Alli (orlistat) [label] Moon Township PA GlaxoSmithKlinehttpwwwaccessdatafdagovdrugsatfda_docslabel2007021887lblpdf Approved February 7 2007 Accessed July 2 2014

49 Belviq (lorcaserin) [prescribing information] Zofingen Switzer-



land Arena Pharmaceuticals GmbH httpswwwbelviqhcpcommedia1001belviq_prescribing_informationpdf Accessed July 22014

50 Fanghaumlnel G Cortinas L Saacutenchez-Reyes L Berber A Second phaseof a double-blind study clinical trial on Sibutramine for the treat-ment of patients suffering essential obesity 6 months after treat-ment cross-over Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 200125741ndash747

51 Sjoumlstroumlm L Rissanen A Andersen T et al Randomised placebo-controlled trial of orlistat for weight loss and prevention of weightregain in obese patients European Multicentre Orlistat StudyGroup Lancet 1998352167ndash172

52 Anderson JW Schwartz SM Hauptman J et al Low-dose orlistateffects on body weight of mildly to moderately overweight indi-viduals a 16 week double-blind placebo-controlled trial AnnPharmacother 2006401717ndash1723

53 Haddock CK Poston WS Dill PL Foreyt JP Ericsson M Phar-macotherapy for obesity a quantitative analysis of four decades ofpublished randomized clinical trials Int J Obes Relat Metab Dis-ord 200226262ndash273

54 Li D Morris JS Liu J et al Body mass index and risk age of onsetand survival in patients with pancreatic cancer JAMA 20093012553ndash2562

55 Avenell A Broom J Brown TJ et al Systematic review of thelong-term effects and economic consequences of treatments forobesity and implications for health improvement Health TechnolAssess 20048iii-iv1ndash182

56 Rucker D Padwal R Li SK Curioni C Lau DC Long term phar-macotherapy for obesity and overweight updated meta-analysisBMJ 2007335(7631)1194ndash1199

57 Leblanc ES OrsquoConnor E Whitlock EP Patnode CD Kapka TEffectiveness of primary care-relevant treatments for obesity inadults a systematic evidence review for the US Preventive ServicesTask Force Ann Intern Med 2011155434ndash447

58 Maahs D de Serna DG Kolotkin RL et al Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of orlistat for weight loss in adoles-cents Endocr Pract 20061218ndash28

59 McDuffie JR Calis KA Booth SL Uwaifo GI Yanovski JA Effectsof orlistat on fat-soluble vitamins in obese adolescents Pharma-cotherapy 200222814ndash822

60 McGovern L Johnson JN Paulo R et al Clinical review treatmentof pediatric obesity a systematic review and meta-analysis of ran-domized trials J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2008934600ndash4605

61 Allison DB Gadde KM Garvey WT et al Controlled-releasephenterminetopiramate in severely obese adults a randomizedcontrolled trial (EQUIP) Obesity (Silver Spring) 201220330ndash342

62 Shyangdan DS Royle P Clar C Sharma P Waugh N Snaith AGlucagon-like peptide analogues for type 2 diabetes mellitus Co-chrane Database Syst Rev 201110CD006423

63 Malin SK Kashyap SR Effects of metformin on weight loss po-tential mechanisms Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes 201421(5)323ndash329

64 Caton PW Kieswich J Yaqoob MM Holness MJ Sugden MCMetformin opposes impaired AMPK and SIRT1 function and del-eterious changes in core clock protein expression in white adiposetissue of genetically-obese dbdb mice Diabetes Obes Metab201113(12)1097ndash1104

65 Chapman I Parker B Doran S et al Effect of pramlintide on satietyand food intake in obese subjects and subjects with type 2 diabetesDiabetologia 200548(5)838ndash848

66 Smith SR Blundell JE Burns C et al Pramlintide treatment re-duces 24-h caloric intake and meal sizes and improves control ofeating in obese subjects a 6-wk translational research study Am JPhysiol Endocrinol Metab 2007293(2)E620ndashE627

67 Bolinder J Ljunggren Ouml Kullberg J et al Effects of dapagliflozinon body weight total fat mass and regional adipose tissue distri-bution in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with inadequate

glycemic control on metformin J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2012971020ndash1031

68 Grandy S Hashemi M Langkilde AM Parikh S Sjoumlstroumlm CDChanges in weight loss-related quality of life among type 2 diabetesmellitus patients treated with dapagliflozin Diabetes Obes Metab201416645ndash650

69 Knowler WC Barrett-Connor E Fowler SE et al Reduction in theincidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or met-formin N Engl J Med 2002346393ndash403

70 Wainstein J Katz L Engel SS et al Initial therapy with the fixed-dose combination of sitagliptin and metformin results in greaterimprovement in glycaemic control compared with pioglitazonemonotherapy in patients with type 2 diabetes Diabetes ObesMetab 201214(5)409ndash418

71 Horton ES Silberman C Davis KL Berria R Weight loss glycemiccontrol and changes in cardiovascular biomarkers in patients withtype 2 diabetes receiving incretin therapies or insulin in a largecohort database Diabetes Care 2010331759ndash1765

72 Garber A Henry R Ratner R et al Liraglutide versus glimepiridemonotherapy for type 2 diabetes (LEAD-3 Mono) a randomised52-week phase III double-blind parallel-treatment trial Lancet2009373(9662)473ndash481

73 Richter B Bandeira-Echtler E Bergerhoff K Lerch CL Dipeptidylpeptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors for type 2 diabetes mellitus Co-chrane Database Syst Rev 20082CD006739

74 Wu D Li L Liu C Efficacy and safety of dipeptidyl peptidase-4inhibitors and metformin as initial combination therapy and asmonotherapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus a meta-analysis Diabetes Obes Metab 201416(1)30ndash37

75 Scheen AJ DPP-4 inhibitors in the management of type 2 diabetesa critical review of head-to-head trials Diabetes Metab 20123889ndash101

76 McIntosh B Cameron C Singh SR et al Second-line therapy inpatients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with met-formin monotherapy a systematic review and mixed-treatmentcomparison meta-analysis Open Med 20115e35ndashe48

77 Singh-Franco D Perez A Harrington C The effect of pramlintideacetate on glycemic control and weight in patients with type 2diabetes mellitus and in obese patients without diabetes a system-atic review and meta-analysis Diabetes Obes Metab 201113169ndash180

78 Ferrannini E Solini A SGLT2 inhibition in diabetes mellitus ra-tionale and clinical prospects Nat Rev Endocrinol 20128495ndash502

79 Greenway FL Fujioka K Plodkonski RA et al COR I StudyGroup Lancet 2010376595ndash605

80 McDonnell ME Combination therapy with new targets in type 2diabetes a review of available agents with a focus on pre-exerciseadjustment J Cardiopulm Rehabil Prev 200727193ndash201

81 Nathan DM Buse JB Davidson MB et al Medical managementof hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes a consensus algorithm for theinitiation and adjustment of therapy a consensus statement of theAmerican Diabetes Association and the European Association forthe Study of Diabetes Diabetes Care 200932193ndash203

82 Jacob AN Salinas K Adams-Huet B Raskin P Weight gain in type2 diabetes mellitus Diabetes Obes Metab 20079386ndash393

83 Raslovaacute K Tamer SC Clauson P Karl D Insulin detemir results inless weight gain than NPH insulin when used in basal-bolus therapyfor type 2 diabetes mellitus and this advantage increases with base-line body mass index Clin Drug Investig 200727279ndash285

84 Hermansen K Davies M Does insulin detemir have a role in re-ducing risk of insulin-associated weight gain Diabetes ObesMetab 20079209ndash217

85 Holman RR Thorne KI Farmer AJ et al Addition of biphasicprandial or basal insulin to oral therapy in type 2 diabetes N EnglJ Med 20073571716ndash1730

86 Goudswaard AN Furlong NJ Rutten GE Stolk RP Valk GDInsulin monotherapy versus combinations of insulin with oral hy-



poglycaemic agents in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus Co-chrane Database Syst Rev 20044CD003418

87 Chow CC Tsang LW Sorensen JP Cockram CS Comparison ofinsulin with or without continuation of oral hypoglycemic agentsin the treatment of secondary failure in NIDDM patients DiabetesCare 199518307ndash314

88 Maumlkimattila S Nikkilauml K Yki-Jaumlrvinen H Causes of weight gainduring insulin therapy with and without metformin in patients withtype II diabetes mellitus Diabetologia 199942406ndash412

89 Hollander PA Levy P Fineman MS et al Pramlintide as an adjunctto insulin therapy improves long-term glycemic and weight controlin patients with type 2 diabetes a 1-year randomized controlledtrial Diabetes Care 200326784ndash790

90 Aronne L Fujioka K Aroda V et al Progressive reduction in bodyweight after treatment with the amylin analog pramlintide in obesesubjects a phase 2 randomized placebo-controlled dose-escala-tion study J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2007922977ndash2983

91 Hollander P Raslova K Skjoslashth TV Raringstam J Liutkus JF Efficacyand safety of insulin detemir once daily in combination with sita-gliptin and metformin the TRANSITION randomized controlledtrial Diabetes Obes Metab 201113268ndash275

92 Buse JB Bergenstal RM Glass LC et al Use of twice-daily ex-enatide in basal insulin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes arandomized controlled trial Ann Intern Med 2011154103ndash112

93 Contrave [package insert] Deerfield IL Takeda Pharmaceuticals USAInc httpgeneraltakedapharmcomcontentfileaspxfiletypecodeCONTRAVEPIampCountryCodeUSampLanguageCodeENampcacheRandomizerbc8d4bba-8158-44f2-92b3-1e1ba338af0a AccessedJanuary 5 2015

94 Holman RR Farmer AJ Davies MJ et al Three-year efficacy ofcomplex insulin regimens in type 2 diabetes N Engl J Med 20093611736ndash1747

95 Wing LM Reid CM Ryan P et al A comparison of outcomes withangiotensin-convertingndashenzyme inhibitors and diuretics for hyper-tension in the elderly N Engl J Med 2003348583ndash592

96 Manrique C Whaley-Connell A Sowers JR Nebivolol in obeseand non-obese hypertensive patients J Clin Hypertens (Green-wich) 200911309ndash315

97 Sharma AM Pischon T Hardt S Kunz I Luft FC Hypothesis-adrenergic receptor blockers and weight gain a systematic anal-ysis Hypertension 200137250ndash254

98 Messerli FH Bell DS Fonseca V et al Body weight changes with-blocker use results from GEMINI Am J Med 2007120610ndash615

99 Serretti A Mandelli L Antidepressants and body weight a com-prehensive review and meta-analysis J Clin Psychiatry 2010711259ndash1272

100 Rosenzweig-Lipson S Beyer CE Hughes ZA et al Differentiatingantidepressants of the future efficacy and safety Pharmacol Ther2007113134ndash153

101 Nutt DJ Tolerability and safety aspects of mirtazapine Hum Psy-chopharmacol 200217(suppl 1)S37ndashS41

102 Weber E Stack J Pollock BG et al Weight change in older de-pressed patients during acute pharmacotherapy with paroxetineand nortriptyline a double-blind randomized trial Am J GeriatrPsychiatry 20008245ndash250

103 Gadde KM Xiong GL Bupropion for weight reduction ExpertRev Neurother 2007717ndash24

104 Allison DB Casey DE Antipsychotic-induced weight gain a re-view of the literature J Clin Psychiatry 200162(suppl 7)22ndash31

105 Kurzthaler I Fleischhacker WW The clinical implications ofweight gain in schizophrenia J Clin Psychiatry 200162(Suppl7)32ndash37

106 Henderson DC Cagliero E Gray C et al Clozapine diabetes mel-litus weight gain and lipid abnormalities a five-year naturalisticstudy Am J Psychiatry 2000157975ndash981

107 Lieberman JA Stroup TS McEvoy JP et al Effectiveness of anti-

psychotic drugs in patients with chronic schizophrenia N EnglJ Med 20053531209ndash1223

108 Simpson GM Glick ID Weiden PJ Romano SJ Siu CO Random-ized controlled double-blind multicenter comparison of the effi-cacy and tolerability of ziprasidone and olanzapine in acutely illinpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder Am JPsychiatry 20041611837ndash1847

109 Komossa K Rummel-Kluge C Hunger H et al Ziprasidone versusother atypical antipsychotics for schizophrenia Cochrane Data-base Syst Rev 20094CD006627

110 Maayan L Correll CU Weight gain and metabolic risks associatedwith antipsychotic medications in children and adolescents J ChildAdolesc Psychopharmacol 201121517ndash535

111 Ballon JS Pajvani U Freyberg Z Leibel RL Lieberman JA Mo-lecular pathophysiology of metabolic effects of antipsychotic med-ications Trends Endocrinol Metab 201425(11)593ndash600

112 Ben-Menachem E Weight issues for people with epilepsyndasha re-view Epilepsia 200748(suppl 9)42ndash45

113 Verrotti A DrsquoEgidio C Mohn A Coppola G Chiarelli F Weightgain following treatment with valproic acid pathogenetic mech-anisms and clinical implications Obes Rev 201112e32ndashe43

114 Corman CL Leung NM Guberman AH Weight gain in epilepticpatients during treatment with valproic acid a retrospective studyCan J Neurol Sci 199724240ndash244

115 DeToledo JC Toledo C DeCerce J Ramsay RE Changes in bodyweight with chronic high-dose gabapentin therapy Ther DrugMonit 199719394ndash396

116 Jallon P Picard F Bodyweight gain and anticonvulsants a com-parative review Drug Saf 200124969ndash978

117 Gaspari CN Guerreiro CA Modification in body weight associ-ated with antiepileptic drugs Arq Neuropsiquiatr 201068277ndash281

118 Gallo MF Lopez LM Grimes DA Carayon F Schulz KF Hel-merhorst FM Combination contraceptives effects on weight Co-chrane Database Syst Rev 20141CD003987

119 Lopez LM Edelman A Chen M Otterness C Trussell J Helmer-horst FM Progestin-only contraceptives effects on weight Co-chrane Database Syst Rev 20137CD008815

120 Stricker RB Goldberg B Weight gain associated with proteaseinhibitor therapy in HIV-infected patients Res Virol 1998149123ndash126

121 Reust CE Common adverse effects of antiretroviral therapy forHIV disease Am Fam Physician 2011831443ndash1451

122 Sutbeyaz ST Sezer N Koseoglu BF Ibrahimoglu F Tekin D In-fluence of knee osteoarthritis on exercise capacity and quality oflife in obese adults Obesity 2007152071ndash2076

123 Da Silva JA Jacobs JW Bijlsma JW Revisiting the toxicity oflow-dose glucocorticoids risks and fears Ann NY Acad Sci 20061069275ndash288

124 Jacobs JW Boers M Kirwan JR Bijlsma JW The benefit of low-dose glucocorticoid treatment in early rheumatoid arthritis mayoutweigh the risk comment on the editorial by Harris ArthritisRheum 200654(6)2031ndash2032 author reply 2032

125 Landeweacute RB Boers M Verhoeven AC et al COBRA combinationtherapy in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis long-termstructural benefits of a brief intervention Arthritis Rheum 200246347ndash356

126 Boers M van der Heijde DM Prevention or retardation of jointdamage in rheumatoid arthritis issues of definition evaluation andinterpretation of plain radiographs Drugs 200262(12)1717ndash1724

127 Prummel MF Mourits MP Blank L Berghout A Koornneef LWiersinga WM Randomized double-blind trial of prednisone ver-sus radiotherapy in Gravesrsquo ophthalmopathy Lancet 1993342(8877)949ndash954

128 Aronne LJ Drug-induced weight gain non-CNS medications InAronne LJ ed A Practical Guide to Drug-Induced Weight GainMinneapolis MN McGraw-Hill 200277ndash91



129 Ratliff JC Barber JA Palmese LB Reutenauer EL Tek C Asso-ciation of prescription H1 antihistamine use with obesity resultsfrom the National Health and Nutrition Examination SurveyObesity (Silver Spring) 2010182398ndash2400

130 Weintraub M Sundaresan PR Schuster B et al Long-term weightcontrol study II (weeks 34 to 104) An open-label study of con-tinuous fenfluramine plus phentermine versus targeted intermit-tent medication as adjuncts to behavior modification caloric re-striction and exercise Clin Pharmacol Ther 199251595ndash601

131 Hendricks EJ Srisurapanont M Schmidt SL et al Addiction po-tential of phentermine prescribed during long-term treatment ofobesity Int J Obes (Lond) 201438292ndash298

132 Cohen RV Pinheiro JC Schiavon CA Salles JE Wajchenberg BLCummings DE Effects of gastric bypass surgery in patients withtype 2 diabetes and only mild obesity Diabetes Care 2012351420ndash1428

133 Mingrone G Panunzi S De Gaetano A et al Bariatric surgeryversus conventional medical therapy for type 2 diabetes N EnglJ Med 20123661577ndash1585

134 Schauer PR Kashyap SR Wolski K et al Bariatric surgery versusintensive medical therapy in obese patients with diabetes N EnglJ Med 20123661567ndash1576

135 Buchwald H Estok R Fahrbach K et al Weight and type 2 dia-betes after bariatric surgery systematic review and meta-analysisAm J Med 2009122248ndash256e5

136 Ilanne-Parikka P Eriksson JG Lindstroumlm J et al Effect of lifestyleintervention on the occurrence of metabolic syndrome and its com-ponents in the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study Diabetes Care200831805ndash807

137 Phelan S Wadden TA Berkowitz RI et al Impact of weight losson the metabolic syndrome Int J Obes (Lond) 2007311442ndash1448

138 Zanella MT Uehara MH Ribeiro AB Bertolami M Falsetti ACYunes MA Orlistat and cardiovascular risk profile in hypertensivepatients with metabolic syndrome the ARCOS study Arq BrasEndocrinol Metabol 200650368ndash376

139 Wannamethee SG Shaper AG Walker M Overweight and obesityand weight change in middle aged men impact on cardiovasculardisease and diabetes J Epidemiol Community Health 200559134ndash139

140 Andersen T Gluud C Franzmann MB Christoffersen P Hepaticeffects of dietary weight loss in morbidly obese subjects J Hepatol199112224ndash229

141 Huang MA Greenson JK Chao C et al One-year intense nutri-

tional counseling results in histological improvement in patientswith non-alcoholic steatohepatitis a pilot study Am J Gastroen-terol 20051001072ndash1081

142 Palmer M Schaffner F Effect of weight reduction on hepatic ab-normalities in overweight patients Gastroenterology 199099(5)1408ndash1413

143 Ueno T Sugawara H Sujaku K et al Therapeutic effects of re-stricted diet and exercise in obese patients with fatty liver J Hepa-tol 199727103ndash107

144 Christensen R Bartels EM Astrup A Bliddal H Effect of weightreduction in obese patients diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis asystematic review and meta-analysis Ann Rheum Dis 200766433ndash439

145 Fransen M Dietary weight loss and exercise for obese adults withknee osteoarthritis modest weight loss targets mild exercise mod-est effects Arthritis Rheum 2004501366ndash1369

146 Huang MH Chen CH Chen TW Weng MC Wang WT WangYL The effects of weight reduction on the rehabilitation of patientswith knee osteoarthritis and obesity Arthritis Care Res 200013398ndash405

147 Messier SP Loeser RF Miller GD et al Exercise and dietaryweight loss in overweight and obese older adults with knee osteo-arthritis the Arthritis Diet and Activity Promotion Trial ArthritisRheum 2004501501ndash1510

148 van Gool CH Penninx BW Kempen GI et al Effects of exerciseadherence on physical function among overweight older adultswith knee osteoarthritis Arthritis Rheum 20055324ndash32

149 Adams TD Stroup AM Gress RE et al Cancer incidence andmortality after gastric bypass surgery Obesity 200917796 ndash802

150 Sjoumlstroumlm L Gummesson A Sjoumlstroumlm CD et al Effects of bariatricsurgery on cancer incidence in obese patients in Sweden (SwedishObese Subjects Study) a prospective controlled intervention trialLancet Oncol 200910653ndash662

151 Kuna ST Reboussin DM Borradaile KE et al Long-term effect ofweight loss on obstructive sleep apnea severity in obese patientswith type 2 diabetes Sleep 201336641ndash649A

152 van de Laar FA Lucassen PL Akkermans RP et al Alpha-gluco-sidase inhibitors for patients with type 2 diabetes results from aCochrane systematic review and meta-analysis Diabetes Care2005 28(1)154ndash163

153 Lee A Patrick P Wishart J Horowitz M Morley JE The effects ofmiglitol on glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion and appetite sensa-tions in obese type 2 diabetics Diabetes Obes Metab 2024(5)329ndash335



to reduce food intake and increase physical activity whenthis is possible Drugs may amplify adherence to behaviorchange and may improve physical functioning such thatincreased physical activity is easier in those who cannotexercise initially Patients who have a history of being un-able to successfully lose and maintain weight and whomeet label indications are candidates for weight loss med-ications (1|QQQQ)

12 In order to promote long-term weight maintenancewe suggest the use of approved1 weight loss medication(over no pharmacological therapy) to ameliorate comor-bidities and amplify adherence to behavior changes whichmay improve physical functioning and allow for greaterphysical activity in individuals with a BMI 30 kgm2 orin individuals with a BMI of 27 kgm2 and at least oneassociated comorbid medical condition such as hyperten-sion dyslipidemia type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and obstruc-tive sleep apnea (2|QQEE)

13 In patients with uncontrolled hypertension or a his-tory of heart disease we recommend against using thesympathomimetic agents phentermine and diethylpro-pion (1|QQQE)

14 We suggest assessment of efficacy and safety atleast monthly for the first 3 months then at least every3 months in all patients prescribed weight loss medica-tions (2|QQEE)


16 If medication for chronic obesity management isprescribed as adjunctive therapy to comprehensive life-style intervention we suggest initiating therapy with doseescalation based on efficacy and tolerability to the recom-mended dose and not exceeding the upper approved doseboundaries (2|QQEE)

17 In patients with T2DM who are overweight orobese we suggest the use of antidiabetic medications thathave additional actions to promote weight loss (such asglucagon-like peptide-1 [GLP-1] analogs or sodium-glu-cose-linked transporter-2 [SGLT-2] inhibitors) in addi-tion to the first-line agent for T2DM and obesity met-formin (2|QQQE)

18 In patients with cardiovascular disease who seekpharmacological treatment for weight loss we suggest us-

ing medications that are not sympathomimetics such aslorcaserin andor orlistat (2|QEEE)


21 We recommend weight-losing and weight-neutralmedications as first- and second-line agents in the man-agement of a patient with T2DM who is overweight orobese Clinicians should discuss possible weight effects ofglucose-lowering medications with patients and considerthe use of antihyperglycemic medications that are weightneutral or promote weight loss (1|QQQE)

22 In obese patients with T2DM requiring insulintherapy we suggest adding at least one of the followingmetformin pramlintide or GLP-1 agonists to mitigateassociated weight gain due to insulin The first-line in-sulin for this type of patient should be basal insulin Thisis preferable to using either insulin alone or insulin withsulfonylurea We also suggest that the insulin therapystrategy be considered a preferential trial of basal in-sulin prior to premixed insulins or combination insulintherapy (2|QQQE)

23 We recommend angiotensin-converting enzyme(ACE) inhibitors angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs)and calcium channel blockers rather than -adrenergicblockers as first-line therapy for hypertension in patientswith T2DM who are obese (1|QQQQ)


25 We recommend using weight-neutral antipsychoticalternatives when clinically indicated rather than thosethat cause weight gain and the use of a shared decision-making process that provides patients with quantitativeestimates of the expected weight effect of the alternativetreatments to make an informed decision about drugchoice (1|QQQE)

26 We recommend considering weight gain potentialin choosing an antiepileptic drug (AED) for any given pa-tient and the use of a shared decision-making process thatprovides patients with quantitative estimates of the ex-pected weight effect of the drugs to make an informeddecision about drug choice (1|QQQE)

27 In women with a BMI 27 kgm2 with comorbidi-ties or BMI 30 kgm2 seeking contraception we suggestoral contraceptives over injectable medications due to

1 Approval in the United States is based on FDA determination Approval in Europe is basedon EMA determination




































































































































Weight Loss or kga




(375 mg)

375 mgd

Ionamin (30 mg)

30ndash375

mgd


agent


short-term use

(3 mo)



anxiety



events





psychosis




disturbances

Allergic urticaria


libido

Anxiety disorders

(agitated states)

history of heart


hypertension

seizure MAO


and breastfeeding

hyperthyroidism

glaucoma history of

drug abuse

sympathomimetic

amines


75 mgd


agents


1960s for short-

term use (3 mo)


Orlistat

prescription

(120 mg)


lipase inhibitor


29ndash34 1 y


for chronic weight

management







before or after


malabsorption

syndrome

pregnancy and

breastfeeding

cholestasis

levothyroxine

warfarin


counter (60 mg)


lipase inhibitor


29ndash34 1 y


for chronic weight

management



for chronic weight

management



Pregnancy and

breastfeeding



buproprion


topiramate (T)

375 mg P23

mg T ER QD

(starting dose)

75 mg P46 mg

T ER daily

(recommended

dose)

15 mg P92 mg

PT ER daily

(high dose)

GABA receptor

modulation (T) plus

norepinephrine-

releasing agent (P)

66 kg (145 lb)

(recommended dose)

66


86 1 y


for chronic weight

management



Pregnancy and

breastfeeding

hyperthyroidism

glaucoma MAO

inhibitor

sympathomimetic

amines

Naltrexone

bupropion

32 mg360 mg

2 tablets QID

(high dose)


dopamine and

norepinephrine

(bupropion) and

opioid antagonist

(naltrexone)


for chronic weight

management


vomiting dizziness

Uncontrolled


disorders anorexia

nervosa or bulimia

drug or alcohol

withdrawal MAO


for chronic weight

management


cancer history

multiple endocrine

neoplasia type 2

history

































































































Acknowledgments








References












































































































































































































































































































Weight Loss or kga




(375 mg)

375 mgd

Ionamin (30 mg)

30ndash375

mgd


agent


short-term use

(3 mo)



anxiety



events





psychosis




disturbances

Allergic urticaria


libido

Anxiety disorders

(agitated states)

history of heart


hypertension

seizure MAO


and breastfeeding

hyperthyroidism

glaucoma history of

drug abuse

sympathomimetic

amines


75 mgd


agents


1960s for short-

term use (3 mo)


Orlistat

prescription

(120 mg)


lipase inhibitor


29ndash34 1 y


for chronic weight

management







before or after


malabsorption

syndrome

pregnancy and

breastfeeding

cholestasis

levothyroxine

warfarin


counter (60 mg)


lipase inhibitor


29ndash34 1 y


for chronic weight

management



for chronic weight

management



Pregnancy and

breastfeeding



buproprion


topiramate (T)

375 mg P23

mg T ER QD

(starting dose)

75 mg P46 mg

T ER daily

(recommended

dose)

15 mg P92 mg

PT ER daily

(high dose)

GABA receptor

modulation (T) plus

norepinephrine-

releasing agent (P)

66 kg (145 lb)

(recommended dose)

66


86 1 y


for chronic weight

management



Pregnancy and

breastfeeding

hyperthyroidism

glaucoma MAO

inhibitor

sympathomimetic

amines

Naltrexone

bupropion

32 mg360 mg

2 tablets QID

(high dose)


dopamine and

norepinephrine

(bupropion) and

opioid antagonist

(naltrexone)


for chronic weight

management


vomiting dizziness

Uncontrolled


disorders anorexia

nervosa or bulimia

drug or alcohol

withdrawal MAO


for chronic weight

management


cancer history

multiple endocrine

neoplasia type 2

history

































































































Acknowledgments








References








































































































































































































































































Acknowledgments








References











































































































































































pharmacological management of obesity: an endocrine ... · modification be included in all obesity...

Documents