Obesity pharmacotherapy: what is next?

ABSTRACT: The increase in obesity in the Unites States and around the world in the last decade is overwhelming. The number of overweight adults in the world surpassed 1 billion in 2008. Health hazards associated with obesity are serious and include heart disease, sleep apnea, diabetes, and cancer. Although lifestyle modifications are the most straightforward way to control weight, a large portion of the population may not be able to rely on this modality alone. Thus, the development of anti-obesity therapeutics represents a major unmet medical need. Historically, anti-obesity pharmacotherapies have been unsafe and minimally efficacious. A better understanding of the biology of appetite and metabolism provides an opportunity to develop drugs that may offer safer and more effective alternatives for we

SUBMITTER: Colon-Gonzalez F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4076900 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature