Weight-loss basics (13)
- Metabolism and weight loss: How you burn calories
- Weight loss: Assess your readiness to change
- Weight loss: 6 strategies for success
- see all in Weight-loss basics
Diet plans (5)
- Low-carb diet: Can it help you lose weight?
- Weight loss: Choosing a diet that's right for you
- Energy density and weight loss: Feel full on fewer calories
- see all in Diet plans
Mayo Clinic diet (6)
- The Mayo Clinic Diet: A weight-loss program for life
- Energy density and weight loss: Feel full on fewer calories
- Snacks: How they fit into your weight-loss plan
- see all in Mayo Clinic diet
Diet and exercise (9)
- Exercise for weight loss: Calories burned in 1 hour
- Barriers to fitness: Overcoming common challenges
- Aerobic exercise: Top 10 reasons to get physical
- see all in Diet and exercise
Diet pills, supplements and surgery (6)
- Prescription weight-loss drugs: Can they help you?
- Gastric bypass surgery: Who is it for?
- Alli weight-loss pill: Does it work?
- see all in Diet pills, supplements and surgery
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Prescription weight-loss drugs: Can they help you?
Find out if you could benefit from taking these medications.
By Mayo Clinic staffAlthough weight-loss drugs may sound like every dieter's dream, they aren't appropriate for everyone. However, if you have serious health problems because of your weight and dieting hasn't worked for you, prescription weight-loss drugs may be an option. You should know, though, that prescription weight-loss drugs don't replace the need to make healthy changes in your eating habits and activity level.
Who is a candidate for weight-loss drugs?
Prescription weight-loss drugs are generally reserved for people who haven't been able to lose weight through diet and exercise, and who have health problems because of their weight. They're not for people who want to lose just a few pounds for cosmetic reasons.
Your doctor may consider weight-loss drugs for you if you have no contraindications and:
- Your body mass index (BMI) is greater than 30
- Your BMI is greater than 27 and you have a serious medical problem related to obesity, such as diabetes or high blood pressure
Before selecting a medication for you, your doctor will consider your health history, possible side effects and potential interaction of weight-loss drugs with other medications you're taking.
How well do weight-loss drugs work?
When combined with a low-calorie diet and regular exercise, weight-loss drugs produce an average weight loss of 5 to 10 percent of total body weight within a year, which is a typical weight-loss goal. Diet and exercise are responsible for part of this weight loss, and medications are responsible for part as well.
Losing 5 to 10 percent of your total weight may not seem like much, but even modest weight loss can improve your health by:
- Decreasing blood pressure
- Decreasing lipid levels
- Decreasing blood glucose levels
- Increasing insulin sensitivity
It's important to keep in mind, however, that these medications may not work for everyone. And when you stop taking these medications, you're likely to regain much or all of the weight you lost.
Next page(1 of 2)
- Prescription medications for the treatment of obesity. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/prescription.htm#meds. Accessed Dec. 7, 2011.
- Bray GA, et al. Drug therapy of obesity. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 7, 2011.
- Padwal RS, et al. Drug treatments for obesity: Orlistat, sibutramine and remonabant. Lancet. 2007;369:71.
- Rucker D, et al. Long term pharmacotherapy for obesity and overweight: Updated meta-analysis. BMJ. 2007;335:1194.
- Meridia (sibutramine): Market withdrawal due to risk of serious cardiovascular events. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm228830.htm. Accessed Dec. 7, 2011.
- Completed safety review of Xenical/Alli (orlistat) and severe liver injury. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/ucm213038.htm. Accessed Dec. 7, 2011.
- Xenical (prescribing information). San Francisco, Calif.: Genentech USA, Inc., 2010. http://www.gene.com/gene/products/information/xenical/. Accessed Dec. 7, 2011.
Find Mayo Clinic on