ABSTRACT
Clinical treatment of obesity has focused on lifestyle modification but has recently evolved to include various drug therapies and bariatric surgery. This chapter discusses the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pharmacological treatment of obesity. It focuses on the mechanisms, indications, efficacy, and side effects of the several obesity drugs approved for short-term and long-term weight loss. The chapter provides detailed clinical considerations for providers who are considering pharmacological therapy in the management of patients with obesity. Phentermine is the most commonly prescribed obesity drug in the United States, as shown by the 2012–2015 National Prescription Audit database. Diethylpropion is a centrally active adrenergic sympathomimetic agent with an action similar to phentermine. Diethylpropion is structurally similar to the FDA approved antidepressant drug bupropion. Phentermine-topiramate ER is a combination of the appetite suppressant phentermine together with the anticonvulsant topiramate, which acts on Gamma-aminobutyric acid receptors.
