Pharmacotherapy of obesity – more risks than benefits
Keywords:
pharmacotherapy of obesity, poisoning, adverse effectsAbstract
An epidemic of overweight and obesity concerns more than half of the European population. Not only is this a problem of an aesthetic nature, but it also contributes to various diseases caused primarily by excessive body weight. In order to lose weight, it is necessary to achieve negative energy balance which can be done by means of a suitable diet and increased physical activity. The process is long-drawn-out and requires numerous sacrifices. Those patients whose BMI (Body Mass Index) is higher than 30 kg/m2 are advised to introduce pharmacotherapy as a complementing method of losing weight. Over the course of time, many different types of drugs have been used to fight obesity. However, they have been gradually withdrawn from the market due to their recorded side effects. Despite that, they are still relatively easily available online or they are included in supplements advertised as herbal weight loss enhancers. This article provides an overview of those supplements while emphasizing the potential risks involved in using them. The effort to maintain their dieting regime is the reason why patients become prone to self-reliant pharmacological treatment which puts them under the risk of inadvertent poisoning.
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