Weight loss medications may be used when patients need short-term weight loss and lifestyle efforts on their own have not been enough to achieve their weight loss goals.
Medications are considered for patients who:
Weight loss prescription medications work in different ways.
Some may help you feel less hungry or full sooner. Others may make it harder for your body to absorb fat from the foods you eat.
Ozempic (semaglutide) is a new medication, which was approved in Australia in June 2020 (2017 in USA). This is a once-weekly injection for patients with Type 2 diabetes, which helps them to lose weight and improve blood glucose level, along with diet and exercise. It also reduces the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke. In a recent study with 1961 participants who were not diabetics, the weight loss achieved was between 5% and 14.9% of the total body mass in 68 weeks.
This medication works in two ways. It slows the passage of food through the gut making a person feel fuller and satisfied. It also works directly on the appetite centre of the brain to reduce hunger and cravings.
Saxenda® (Liraglutide) 3 mg is a daily injectable prescription medicine used for:
Saxenda® should be used with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity.
Orlistat inhibits the lipase enzyme in the bowel lumen. This process reduces the fat absorption by approximately 30%. The undigested fat then passes out of your body with your bowel motions. Thus the decreased absorption of calories from fat eventually leads to weight loss.
However, Orlistat does not block the absorption of calories from sugar and other non-fatty foods, so you will still need to restrict your total calorie intake.
This is a combination of two medications that stop patients craving food. These work on the reward and appetite centres in the brain to stop hunger cravings.