Obesity is a common, serious and growing problem. Current epidemiological estimates suggest that 1.1 billion people worldwide are above their ideal weight. Consequently, developing obesity treatments that target novel pathways is a growing focus for both biopharmaceutical and the medical device industries, by developing anti-obesity drugs. Anti-obesity drugs or Weight loss drugs are all pharmacological agents that reduce or control weight. Anti-obesity drugs are medically prescribed only in cases of morbid obesity, where weight loss is life-saving. These drugs alter one of the fundamental processes of the human body, weight regulation, by altering either appetite, or absorption of calories. Epilepsy medications and catecholamines and their derivatives are the main tools used for this.
How it works?
Anti-obesity drugs work by either affecting the absorption of calories from food intake or directly affecting the metabolism. It can reduce the amount of fat absorbed during food breakdown which means less of this going into your system. They can also alter the chemical messengers in the brain which are directly responsible for appetite regulation. We all produce two hormones called ghrelin and leptin which are responsible for feelings of hunger and fullness. In a nutshell, they control appetite regulation.
They are most effective when combined with diet and exercise and form part of a complete lifestyle change. They have been developed in response to the growing problem of obesity and the fact that it’s a complex problem as well. There are a whole range of factors responsible for excessive weight gain, one of these being genetic. Anti-obesity medication is one answer to this problem.
Finally, successful discovery and development of potent and safe drugs for the prevention and treatment of obesity will probably require polytherapeutic strategies as well as vastly improved tools for the identification and characterisation of specific obese subpopulations that allow for the tailor-made development and appropriate use of personalised medicines.