title: Obesity management: update on orlistat.
abstract: Over the past 20 years obesity has become a worldwide concern of frightening proportion. The World Health Organization estimates that there are over 400 million obese and over 1.6 billion overweight adults, a figure which is projected to almost double by 2015. This is not a disease restricted to adults - at least 20 million children under the age of 5 years were overweight in 2005 (WHO 2006). Overweight and obesity lead to serious health consequences including coronary artery disease, stroke, type-2 diabetes, heart failure, dyslipidemia, hypertension, reproductive and gastrointestinal cancers, gallstones, fatty liver disease, osteoarthritis and sleep apnea (Padwal et al 2003). Modest weight loss in the obese of between 5% and 10% of bodyweight is associated with improvements in cardiovascular risk profiles and reduced incidence of type 2 diabetes (Goldstein 1992; Avenell et al 2004; Padwal and Majumdar 2007). Orlistat, a gastric and pancreatic lipase inhibitor that reduces dietary fat absorption by approximately 30%, has been approved for use for around ten years (Zhi et al 1994; Hauptman 2000). There is now a growing body of evidence to suggest that Orlistat assists weight loss and that it may also have additional benefits. The aim of this review is to provide a brief update on the current literature studying the efficacy, safety and significance of the use of Orlistat in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Obesity Research and Education, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Belinda S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Drew
authors.forename: Andrew F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Dixon
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Dixon
mesh_terms: D019440:Anti-Obesity Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015897:Comorbidity; D004347:Drug Interactions; D006801:Humans; D007783:Lactones / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009765:Obesity / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000077403:Orlistat; D010349:Patient Compliance; D015431:Weight Loss
chemical_list: D019440:Anti-Obesity Agents; D007783:Lactones; D000077403:Orlistat