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Review
. 2023 Dec;52(4):661-680.
doi: 10.1016/j.gtc.2023.08.003. Epub 2023 Sep 21.

The Effective Use of Anti-obesity Medications

Sarah H Schmitz  1 , Louis J Aronne  2
Affiliations
Review

The Effective Use of Anti-obesity Medications

Sarah H Schmitz et al. Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2023 Dec.

Abstract

Obesity is a heterogeneous disease and there is wide patient-to-patient variability in response to all anti-obesity treatments including lifestyle modifications, anti-obesity medications (AOMs), devices, and bariatric surgery. To effectively treat obesity, practitioners must be knowledgeable about all of these treatment modalities including on-label and off-label AOMs. Care should be individualized to the patient taking into consideration their unique challenges with weight loss, their goals, the presence of comorbidities, medication contraindications, and drug-drug interactions. There is currently no way to know which AOM will be most effective for a patient without trial and error; therefore, prescribe AOMs in sequence and consider combination therapy for optimal results. This article reviews the efficacy, safety, prescribing information, and other considerations for all of the currently available AOMs.

Keywords: Anti-obesity medications; Combination therapy; GLP-1 receptor agonists; Obesity pharmacotherapy; Off-label prescribing; Treatment of obesity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure S.H. Schmitz reports no disclosures. L.J. Aronne reports receiving consulting fees from/and serving on advisory boards for Allurion, Altimmune, Atria, Gelesis, Jamieson Wellness, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Optum, Eli Lilly, Senda Biosciences and Versanis; receiving research funding from Allurion, AstraZeneca, United Kingdom, Gelesis, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, United States, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly; having equity interests in Allurion, ERX Pharmaceuticals, Gelesis, Intellihealth, Jamieson Wellness and Myos Corp; and serving on a board of directors for ERX Pharmaceuticals, Intellihealth and Jamieson Wellness.

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