People given either 2.4 mg or 3 mg of liraglutide per day maintained a weight loss of 17.6 lbs after two (2) years according to a recent study from Denmark. Liraglutide (brand name Victoza) is a human GLP-1 analog that is a once-daily injectable medication.

People given 3 mg of liraglutide per day lost 8.4 lbs more after one (1) year than those given the fat-blocking drug, orlistat, according to a recent study from Denmark. Liraglutide (brand name Victoza) is a human GLP-1 analog that is a once-daily injectable medication.

People given 3 mg of liraglutide per day lost 7.3 lbs more after two (2) years than those given the fat-blocking drug, orlistat, according to a recent study from Denmark. Liraglutide (brand name Victoza) is a human GLP-1 analog that is a once-daily injectable medication.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “is reviewing new safety information regarding reports of liver-related adverse events in patients taking orlistat. Orlistat is marketed in the United States as a prescription product, Xenical, and as an over-the-counter (OTC) product, Alli.”

Forty-three percent (43%) of weight loss doctors surveyed use the fat-blocking diet drug Xenical (orlistat).

It is the fifth most used diet drug used by these doctors.

People given Xenical (orlistat) plus lifestyle changes lost an average of 18.3 pounds or 8 percent of body weight after six months according to a recent review paper.

People given Xenical (orlistat) plus lifestyle changes lost an average of approximately 16 pounds or 7 percent of body weight after one year according to a recent review paper.

People given Xenical (orlistat) plus lifestyle changes lost an average of approximately 16 pounds or 7 percent of body weight after two years according to a recent review paper.

People given Xenical (orlistat) plus lifestyle changes lost an average of approximately 12 pounds or 5.3 percent of body weight after two years according to a recent review paper.

Orlistat, which includes both the prescription drug Xenical and over-the—counter drug Alii, reduce secretion of appetite-reducing hormones in the gut, which could increase appetite according to a new study from researchers at St. Josef-Hospital at Ruhr-University in Bochum, Germany.

Obese men and women lost an average of 31.7 pounds on a very-low-calorie diet containing 400 to 800 calories per day. Those given Xenical (orlistat) regained 5.3 pounds less over the next three year than those given a placebo according to a study from researchers at Aarhus University Hospital in Aarhus, Denmark.

After losing weight for two months on a very-low-calorie diet, women given Xenical (orlistat) maintained an additional 7.5 pounds weight loss after three years compared to women who were given a placebo according to a study from Denmark.

After losing weight for two months on a very-low-calorie diet, men given Xenical (orlistat) only maintained an additional 1.8 pounds of weight loss after three years compared to men who were given a placebo according to a study from Denmark.

After losing weight for two months on a very-low-calorie diet, fewer people given Xenical (orlistat) developed type 2 diabetes after three years compared to those given a placebo (5.2 percent versus 10.9 percent) according to a study from Denmark.

After being on store shelves for one year, GlaxoSmithKline said it sold 4 million kits of Alli (orlistat) in the US. Alli is the only over-the-counter weight loss drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Meridia (sibutramine) causes an average of 4.8 pounds greater weight loss than Xenical (orlistat) according to a comparison of eight studies involving a total of 885 patients that compared the two drugs. The studies lasted from 3 to 12 months.

The most common reason for stopping Xenical (orlistat) within the first three months was diarrhea, causing 2.1 percent of patients to stop taking the drug according to data from the UK.

Approximately 80 percent of people taking Meridia (sibutramine) and Xenical (orlistat) are women according to prescription data from the UK.

Xenical (orlistat) causes an average weight loss of 6.4 pounds more than placebo or 2.9 percent of body weight more than placebo according to an analysis by researchers from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Less than 10 percent of patients prescribed either Xenical (orlistat) or Meridia (sibutramine) are still taking them after one year, and less than 2 percent are still taking them after two years according to a study from the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

The over-the-counter fat blocker, Alii (60 mg of orlistat), blocks the absorption of about 25 percent of dietary fat and causes a weight loss of about 5 percent of body weight in the first four months according to a review paper by J. W. Anderson from the University of Kentucky’s College of Medicine in Lexington, Kentucky, USA.

Patients who were instructed to eat a reduced-calorie diet and were given Xenical (orlistat) lost 6.5 pounds more after one year than those given a placebo—19.3 pounds versus 12.8 pounds—according to a 1999 study by Steven B. Heymsfield, M.D., of the Obesity Research Center at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York and colleagues.

After patients had lost an average of 19.3 pounds with Xenical (orlistat) plus a reduced-calorie diet, half of them continued taking Xenical (120 mg of orlistat) three times per day plus a weight maintenance diet for another year, while the other half of patients were given Alli (60 mg of orlistat) instead. Weight loss at the end of the second year was 12.3 pounds for those who kept taking Xenical (120 mg of orlistat) versus 9.9 pounds for those given Alli (60 mg of orlistat) compared to 6.9 pounds for those who were switched from Xenical to a placebo.

As a physician who has committed the past 15 years of my professional career to the medical treatment of overweight and obese patients, I feel the need to express my concern over Alli, the recently FDA approved OTC “fat blocker”, and with GlaxoSmithKline, the pharmaceutical company who owns it.

Orlistat (Xenical and Alii) is a diet pill that prevents the absorption of approximately one-third of dietary fat. Studies lasting 3 months have found that it increases weight loss by approximately 0.4 lbs per week which is nearly as much as to 0.5 lbs seen with other prescription diet pills, however, it does not reduce appetite like other weight loss medications.