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Are there any prescription treatments for weight loss?

A low-calorie diet, along with more exercise and changes in eating habits, is the best way to lose weight and keep it off long term. If you're obese or overweight and have a high risk for medical conditions like heart disease or diabetes, a prescription weight-loss medication may help you. Any drug therapy should be just one part of a weight-loss program that also includes diet, exercise, and behavior changes.

Prescription weight-loss medicines include phentermine (brand names Ionamin, >Adipex-P), benzphetamine (>Didrex), phendimetrazine (Plegine, Adipost, >Bontril), and mazindol (Sanorex). You should only use these medications after trying nondrug treatments for weight loss. Most of these drugs are recommended for short-term use only. There's no information to suggest that they are safe or effective to use beyond several weeks. Weight loss is generally greatest during the first few weeks of therapy with these medicines, and varies with each person. It typically levels off with continued use. These medicines don't work for everyone.

Two newer prescription weight-loss drugs are sibutramine (>Meridia) and orlistat (>Xenical). Meridia has been shown to help people lose the most weight—at least 5 percent of their starting weight—after the first year of treatment. People who used Xenical in research studies reported an average weight loss of 13 to 15 pounds after one year of use. The benefits of Meridia have lasted as long as one year. Xenical's benefits have lasted for up to two years.

Sources:
Applied Therapeutics: The Clinical Use of Drugs. Applied Therapeutics, 1995.
Micromedex® Healthcare Series. Thomson Micromedex, 2007.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Website:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/recommen.htm. Last accessed 1/9/2007
Hauptman, J. “Orlistat in the Long-term Treatment of Obesity in Primary Care Settings,” Archives of Family Medicine. 9 (2000).
Drug Facts and Comparisons. Facts & Comparisons, 2007.

This answer prepared 11/2/2000.
This information updated 1/9/2007.