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Orlistat

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

  • indication - 'in conjunction with a mildly hypocaloric diet for the treatment of obese patients with a body mass index (BMI) greater or equal to 30 kg/m^2, or overweight patients (BMI >= 28 kg/m^2) with associated risk factors'
    • orlistat should be prescribed only as part of an overall plan for managing obesity in adults who meet one of the following criteria (1):
      • a BMI of 28.0 kg/m2 or more with associated risk factors
      • a BMI of 30.0 kg/m2 or more
    • therapy should be continued beyond 3 months only if the person has lost at least 5% of their initial body weight since starting drug treatment
    • the decision to use drug treatment for longer than 12 months (usually for weight maintenance) should be made after discussing potential benefits and limitations with the patient
    • the coprescribing of orlistat with other drugs aimed at weight reduction is not recommended
  • the European Commission has approved an extension to the prescribing licence for orlistat - this has lifted the maximum two year treatment limit and allows orlistat to be prescribed indefinitely where effective for patients who are overweight and obese (2)

Reference:

  1. NICE (November 2014). Obesity Guidance
  2. Xenical - product announcement. MIMS (March 2004).

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