Like hypertension or diabetes mellitus, obesity is a chronic disease that requires continued treatment. Short-term (weeks or months) treatment with drugs is not warranted nor is it probably appropriate. Treatment with medication is likely to be necessary for years, and perhaps for a lifetime in order to sustain weight loss and improve health. To date, there have been few published studies where patients have received anorexiants for more than 1 year. In addition, data on the long-term safety and efficacy of anorectic drug combinations is also very limited. The lack of long-term safety and efficacy data is disappointing, given that most of these anorexiants have been available for more than 20 years. Accordingly, the National Task Force on the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity does not recommend pharmacotherapy for the routine treatment of obesity.56 Despite this recommendation, there has been a resurgence in the prescribing of diet pills.
展开▼
