Medication Therapy for Obesity

Nutritional interventions and physical exercise are considered as basic therapy for obesity, but they cannot achieve sustained weight loss in many patients. Recently, several new drugs have been approved for supportive therapy in this indication. In addition to the intestinal lipase inhibitor orlistat, liraglutide and the combination of naltrexone and bupropion can now also be used for long-term treatment of obesity. This chapter presents the mechanism of action and clinical data of the active substances. Furthermore, other anti-obesity drugs available in Germany, which are only approved for short-term use, are described.