Rise and fall of anti-obesity drugs

Table 1 Anti-obesity drugs[7]

Drug	Mechanism of action	Effect on weight	Side effects
Phentermine	Reducing food intake: sympathomimetic amine	3.6 kg at 6 mo	Headache, insomnia, irritability, palpitations and nervousness
Diethylpropion	As above	3.0 kg at 6 mo	As above
Fluoxetine	Reducing food intake: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor	4.74 kg at 6 mo, and 3.15 kg at 1 year	Agitation and nervousness
Sibutramine	Reducing food intake: combined norepinephrine and serotonin reuptake inhibitor	4.45 kg at 1 year	Headache, insomnia, dry mouth and constipation. Long term treatment increases the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events
Orlistat	Reducing fat absorption: lipase inhibitor	2.59 kg at 6 mo and 2.89 kg at 1 year	Diarrhoea, flatulence, bloating, abdominal pain and dyspepsia
Rimonabant	Reducing food intake: selective CB1 receptor blocker	5.1 kg at 1 year	Nausea, dizziness, arthralgia and diarrhoea