Obesity

Most weight-loss medicines for obesity work by making you feel less hungry or making you feel full sooner. They are used together with diet and exercise.

Medicine is generally only used for those who have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher. But they sometimes are used for those with a BMI of 27 or higher who are at risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, and sleep apnea.¹

Medicine Choices

Sibutramine (Meridia) is a prescription medicine that makes you feel full sooner.

Orlistat (Xenical) is a prescription medicine that prevents some of the fat calories you eat from being absorbed in your intestines. Also, orlistat (Alli) is available over the counter. Alli contains half of the medicine that is in Xenical.

Phentermine suppresses your appetite. It is approved only for short-term use.

What to Think About

Phentermine is no longer marketed in Europe because of a possible link with heart and lung problems.

Medicine alone is not as effective as when combined with diet or activity. Most of the results reported in research are for a combination of medicine, diet, and activity.

Medicine does not work for everyone. If you do not lose weight within 4 weeks of using medicine, the medicine probably will not help you.⁴

Studies report that when medicine is stopped, weight is usually regained.¹⁰

Although current weight-loss drugs appear to be safer than previous weight-loss medicines, experts do not know how safe or effective they are beyond 2 years of use.¹¹

Nonprescription weight-loss products are not recommended. Some have dangerous side effects, and others have no proven benefit.

Should I take medicines to treat obesity?