Endocrine Abstracts

Overeating and decreased activity are the fundamental problems underlying the development of obesity, thus any therapy aimed at helping the obese patient must have a dietary and exercise component.In general three forms of lifestyle interventions are used; exercise, diet and behavioural therapy. Exercise alone produces an average weight loss of 1.8 kg (0–4 kg) with a higher intensity of exercise leading to a greater weight loss. Diastolic blood pres...

The use of drugs for weight loss dates back to the first half of the 20th century. These older agents were mostly amfetamine-derived, centrally acting sympathomimetics, and although effective, their side-effect profile would not be acceptable today. A new generation of drugs, acting on brain serotoninergic pathways was developed in the 1960’s, including fenfluramine and later dexfenfluramine. In the 1990’s, a combination of fenfluramine with an older agent – phe...

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The relentless rise in the prevalence of obesity predicts an exponential increase in the incidence of obesity-related complications. Whereas preventative lifestyle measures must remain the cornerstone of management for the population at large, there remains a growing cohort of patients who remain in the severe obese (BMI>40 kg/m2) category and who suffer from the associated co-morbidities. Medical treatments may be sufficient for lesser degrees of obesity, for t...