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Anti-obesity drugs include all
pharmacological treatments intended to
reduce or control weight.
Anti-obesity medication or weight
loss drugs refer to all pharmacological
agents that reduce or control weight.
These drugs alter one of the fundamental
processes of the human body, weight
regulation, by either altering appetite,
metabolism, or absorption of calories.
It is common for them to be tried and if
there is little or no benefit from them
to discontinue treatment.
Side effects
Some anti-obesity drugs have severe and
often life-threatening side effects.
These side effects are often associated
with their mechanism of action. In
general, stimulants carry a risk of high
blood pressure, faster heart rate,
palpitations, closed-angle glaucoma,
drug addiction, restlessness, agitation,
and insomnia.
Another drug, orlistat, blocks
absorption of dietary fats, and as a
result may cause oily spotting bowel
movements , oily stools, stomach pain,
and flatulence.
Anti-obesity drugs
If diet and exercise are ineffective
alone, anti-obesity drugs are a choice
for some patients. Some prescription
weight loss drugs are stimulants, which
are recommended only for short-term use,
and thus are of limited usefulness for
extremely obese patients, who may need
to reduce weight over months or years.
Sibutramine
Rimonabant
Metformin
Exenatide
Pramlintide |
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