Drug therapy to manage excess body weight

At the time of writing, the effects of drugs used solely to reduce weight (eg naltrexone with bupropion, orlistat, phentermine) on cardiovascular outcomes is unknown.

Although liraglutide and semaglutide have been shown to achieve weight loss in overweight and obese patients, at the time of writing they have only been shown to improve cardiovascular outcomes in patients with diabetesMarso, Bain, 2016Marso, Daniels, 2016Mehta, 2017Wilding, 2021.

Carefully consider the potential harms and benefits before prescribing or recommending drug therapy for weight loss. To achieve weight loss, drug therapy should be supported by behavioural modification.