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• Highlights
• Introduction
• Biologic and Medical Causes
• Cultural and Emotional Causes
• Risk Factors
• Complications
• Weight Loss and Maintenance
• Weight Management
• Medications
• Other Treatments
• Resources
• References

Weight control and diet

Description

An in-depth report on losing and managing weight safely for health benefits.

Alternative Names

Dieting; Obesity; Weight loss

Highlights

Investigative Drugs

• Rimonabant (Accompli) is a new class of weight loss drug called selective CB1 blockers, which help curb a person’s appetite. A study published in the November 2005 New England Journal of Medicine found that people who took the medicine lost a significant amount of weight as well as inches from their waist. The researchers say the drug also improved metabolic risk factors in obese or overweight participants who had atherogenic dyslipidemia, a condition in which blood fat problems cause clogged arteries.
• In February 2006, the FDA ruled that more research was needed before rimonabant could be approved for weight loss.

Counterfeit Drug Warning

Fake rimonabant has been found for sale on several websites. Patients should be aware that this drug is still experimental, and rimonabant is not yet for sale. Taking counterfeit drugs can have serious health consequences. 

Surgery News

• People who have bariatric surgery reduce their risk of heart attacks more than those who lose weight without stomach stapling. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic looked at records from hundreds of patients who had the surgery. The findings were published the September 2005 Mayo Clinic Proceedings .
• Gastric bypass surgery helps lower the blood pressure of very obese patients, according to study in Archives of Surgery.

Diet News

A report in the March 2006 Lancet linked the high-protein, low-carb Atkins diet to the death of one woman. The 40-year-old woman had a deadly build up of acids called ketones in her blood, a condition called ketoacidosis.

About Obesity

Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or over. It accounts for nearly 300,000 deaths in the United States each year, and is associated with numerous chronic health problems. Obesity results when the body consumes more calories than it uses.

Calculating Body Mass Index (BMI)

• Multiply one's weight in pounds by 703.
• Divide that answer by height in inches.
• Divide that answer again by height in inches.

• Review Date: 3/29/2006
• Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital

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