Resumo

Reduced energy diet and increased physical activity form the cornerstone of medical management of obesity. However, long-term adherence to a restricted diet is highly challenging. Anti-obesity medications (AOM) help to resist food cravings, reduce hunger, or increase satiety, thereby empowering individuals to adhere to a restricted diet and promote greater weight loss. Therefore, AOM are needed, not as a substitute, but as a supplement to lifestyle modification efforts for weight management. The concept of pharmacological support for obesity treatment is similar to the use of medications for other chronic diseases with a behavioral component, such as diabetes or hypertension. Fortunately, several drug options are now available to treat hypertension or diabetes. And, in case of a suboptimal response of an individual to a drug, a health care provider (HCP) may choose a different drug or a different set of drugs. Similarly, if an individual is a poor responder to a particular AOM, that drug may still help another individual, and a different AOM may be more effective for the person who did not respond initially.