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Weight loss medications in Canada – a new frontier or a repeat of past mistakes?

Current methods for the treatment of excess weight can involve healthy behavior changes, pharmacotherapy, and surgical interventions. Many individuals are able to lose some degree of weight through behavioral changes; however, they are often unable to maintain their weight loss long-term. This is in...

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Autores principales: Wharton, Sean, Lee, Jasmine, Christensen, Rebecca AG
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Dove Medical Press 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5633321/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29042804
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/DMSO.S141571
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author Wharton, Sean
Lee, Jasmine
Christensen, Rebecca AG
author_facet Wharton, Sean
Lee, Jasmine
Christensen, Rebecca AG
author_sort Wharton, Sean
collection PubMed
description Current methods for the treatment of excess weight can involve healthy behavior changes, pharmacotherapy, and surgical interventions. Many individuals are able to lose some degree of weight through behavioral changes; however, they are often unable to maintain their weight loss long-term. This is in part due to physiological processes that cannot be addressed through behavioral changes alone. Bariatric surgery, which is the most successful treatment for excess weight to date, does result in physiological changes that can help with weight loss and weight maintenance. However, many patients either do not qualify or elect to not have this procedure. Fortunately, research has recently identified changes in neurochemicals (i.e., orexigens and anorexigens) that occur during weight loss and contribute to weight regain. The neurochemicals and hormones may be able to be targeted by medications to achieve greater and more sustained weight loss. Two medications are approved in adjunction to lifestyle management for weight loss in Canada: orlistat and liraglutide. Both medications are able to target physiological processes to help patients lose weight and maintain a greater amount of weight loss than with just behavioral modifications alone. Two other weight management medications, which also target specific physiological processes to aid in weight loss and its maintenance, a bupropion/naltrexone combination and lorcaserin, are currently pending approval in Canada. Nonetheless, there remain significant barriers for health care professionals to prescribe medications for weight loss, such as a lack of training and knowledge in the area of obesity. Until this has been addressed, and we begin treating obesity as we do other diseases, we are unlikely to combat the increasing trend of obesity in Canada and worldwide.
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spelling pubmed-56333212017-10-17 Weight loss medications in Canada – a new frontier or a repeat of past mistakes? Wharton, Sean Lee, Jasmine Christensen, Rebecca AG Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes Commentary Current methods for the treatment of excess weight can involve healthy behavior changes, pharmacotherapy, and surgical interventions. Many individuals are able to lose some degree of weight through behavioral changes; however, they are often unable to maintain their weight loss long-term. This is in part due to physiological processes that cannot be addressed through behavioral changes alone. Bariatric surgery, which is the most successful treatment for excess weight to date, does result in physiological changes that can help with weight loss and weight maintenance. However, many patients either do not qualify or elect to not have this procedure. Fortunately, research has recently identified changes in neurochemicals (i.e., orexigens and anorexigens) that occur during weight loss and contribute to weight regain. The neurochemicals and hormones may be able to be targeted by medications to achieve greater and more sustained weight loss. Two medications are approved in adjunction to lifestyle management for weight loss in Canada: orlistat and liraglutide. Both medications are able to target physiological processes to help patients lose weight and maintain a greater amount of weight loss than with just behavioral modifications alone. Two other weight management medications, which also target specific physiological processes to aid in weight loss and its maintenance, a bupropion/naltrexone combination and lorcaserin, are currently pending approval in Canada. Nonetheless, there remain significant barriers for health care professionals to prescribe medications for weight loss, such as a lack of training and knowledge in the area of obesity. Until this has been addressed, and we begin treating obesity as we do other diseases, we are unlikely to combat the increasing trend of obesity in Canada and worldwide. Dove Medical Press 2017-10-04 /pmc/articles/PMC5633321/ /pubmed/29042804 http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/DMSO.S141571 Text en © 2017 Wharton et al. This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/). By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed.
spellingShingle Commentary
Wharton, Sean
Lee, Jasmine
Christensen, Rebecca AG
Weight loss medications in Canada – a new frontier or a repeat of past mistakes?
title Weight loss medications in Canada – a new frontier or a repeat of past mistakes?
title_full Weight loss medications in Canada – a new frontier or a repeat of past mistakes?
title_fullStr Weight loss medications in Canada – a new frontier or a repeat of past mistakes?
title_full_unstemmed Weight loss medications in Canada – a new frontier or a repeat of past mistakes?
title_short Weight loss medications in Canada – a new frontier or a repeat of past mistakes?
title_sort weight loss medications in canada – a new frontier or a repeat of past mistakes?
topic Commentary
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5633321/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29042804
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/DMSO.S141571
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