CNJ+ May 2023

and

TREAT OVERWEIGHT

OBESITY

TIPS FOR TAKING WEIGHT-LOSS MEDICATION •

Follow your doctor's instructions about weight-loss medications.

• Buy your medication from a pharmacy or web distributor approved by your doctor. • Take weight-loss medication to support your healthy eating and physical activity program. • Know the side effects and warnings for taking any medication. • Ask your doctor if you should stop taking your medication if you are not losing weight after 12 weeks. • Discuss other medications, including supplements and vitamins, you are taking with your doctor when considering weight-loss medications. • Avoid taking weight-loss medications during pregnancy or if you are planning a pregnancy. WHICH WEIGHT-LOSS MEDICATION MIGHT WORK FOR ME? Choosing a medication to treat overweight or obesity is a decision between you and your doctor. Important factors to consider include • the likely benefits of weight loss • the medication’s possible side effects • your current health issues and other medications • your family’s medical history • cost Talk with your doctor about which weight-loss medication might be right for you. HOW LONG WILL I NEED TO TAKE WEIGHT-LOSS MEDICATION? How long you will need to take weight-loss medication depends on whether the drug helps you lose and maintain weight and whether you have any side effects. If you have lost enough weight to improve your health and are not having serious side effects, your doctor may advise that you stay on the medication indefinitely. If you do not lose at least 5 percent of your starting weight after 12 weeks on the full dose of your medication, your doctor will probably advise you to stop taking it. He or she may change your treatment plan or consider using a different weight-loss medication. Your doctor also may have you try different lifestyle, physical activity, or eating programs; change your other medications that cause weight gain; or refer you to a bariatric surgeon to see if weight-loss surgery might be an option for you. Because obesity is a chronic condition, you may need to continue changes to your eating and physical activity habits and other behaviors for years—or even a lifetime—to improve your health and maintain a healthy weight. WILL I REGAIN SOME WEIGHT AFTER I STOP TAKING WEIGHT-LOSS MEDICATION? You will probably regain some weight after you stop taking weight-loss medication. Developing and maintaining healthy eating habits and increasing physical activity may help you regain less weight or keep it off. Federal physical activity guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes a week of moder ate-intensity aerobic activity and at least 2 days a week of muscle-strengthening activities. You may need to do more than 300 minutes of moderate-in tensity activity a week to reach or maintain your weight-loss goal. WILL INSURANCE COVER THE COST OF WEIGHT-LOSS MEDICATION? Some, but not all, insurance plans cover medications that treat overweight and obesity. Contact your insurance provider to find out if your plan covers these medications. WHAT MEDICATIONS ARE AVAILABLE TO TREAT OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY? The table below lists FDA-approved prescription medications for weight loss. The FDA has approved five of these drugs—orlistat (Xenical, Alli), lor caserin (Belviq), phentermine-topiramate (Qsymia), naltrexone-bupropion (Contrave), and liraglutide (Saxenda)—for long-term use. You can keep taking these drugs as long as you are benefiting from treatment and not having unpleasant side-effects. Some weight-loss medications that curb appetite are approved by the FDA only for short-term use, or up to 12 weeks. Although some doctors prescribe them for longer periods of time, not many research studies have looked at how safe and effective they are for long-term use. Pregnant women should never take weight-loss medications. Women who are planning to get pregnant also should avoid these medications, as some of them may harm a fetus. HOW DO DOCTORS USE PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS “OFF-LABEL” TO TREAT OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY? Sometimes doctors use medications in a way that’s different from what the FDA has approved, known as “off-label” use. By choosing an off-label med ication to treat overweight and obesity, your doctor may prescribe • a drug approved for treating a different medical problem • two or more drugs at the same time • a drug for a longer period of time than approved by the FDA You should feel comfortable asking your doctor if he or she is prescribing a medication that is not approved just for treating overweight and obesity. Before using a medication, learn all you need to know about it. References: Yanovski SZ, Yanovski JA. JAMA. Long-term drug treatment for obesity: A systematic and clinical review. 2014; 311(1):74–86. This content is provided as a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. The NIDDK translates and disseminates research findings to increase knowledge and understanding about health and disease among patients, health professionals, and the public. Content produced by the NIDDK is carefully reviewed by NIDDK scientists and other experts. The NIDDK would like to thank: Kishore Gadde, M.D., Pennington Biomedical Research Center

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