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Orlistat Potentiates Weight Loss Without Affecting Eating Behaviour: Presented at ECO

By Thomas S. May

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY -- April 24, 2007 -- Results of a three-year clinical study show there is no significant difference in eating behaviour in patients taking the lipase inhibitor orlistat compared with those taking placebo.

Orlistat is a pancreas lipase inhibitor that is thought to have a "policing influence" on patients' food choices, said lead author Mette Svendsen, registered dietitian, department of preventive cardiology, Ulleval University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.

Svendsen presented the study results here at the 15^th European Congress on Obesity (ECO).

To investigate the effect of orlistat on patient's food choices, Svendsen and colleagues analysed the eating behaviours of 306 obese men and women with the metabolic syndrome participating in the three-year Scandinavian Multicentre study of Obese Subjects with the Metabolic Syndrome trial and randomised to orlistat or placebo after an 8-week very low-energy diet (VLED).

The investigators looked at various indices of eating behaviour throughout the three-year study period. They used the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire and the Binge Eating Scale at the beginning of the study period (immediately following the end of the VLED phase) and again at 17 and 33 months.

All patients regained a considerable proportion of the weight they had lost during the VLED phase. However, subjects treated with orlistat regained significantly less weight compared with those in the placebo group (4.6 vs 7.0 kg; P < .02).

"Our results showed no difference in eating behaviour in patients taking orlistat or placebo," said Mette Svendsen.

"However, we found that several factors are important for sustained weight maintenance in obese subjects with the metabolic syndrome," she added. "These factors are increased restraint and decreased disinhibition, as well as decreased hunger and binge eating."

What these results mean for patients participating in a weight loss program is that orlistat does not impair the effect of the program, according to Svendsen. "In addition, efforts to increase dietary restraint and to decrease disinhibition, hunger, and binge eating are important determinants of success during drug treatment," she said. "In other words, orlistat potentiates weight loss, but eating behaviour remains important for achieving sustained weight loss."

The study was funded by Hoffman La Roche, the manufacturers of orlistat.


[Presentation title: Effect of Orlistat on Eating Behavior Among Participants in a Three-Year Weight Maintenance Trial. Abstract T3:OS2.6]

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