The use of pharmacologic agents in the treatment of the obese patient.

The statistics are staggering: 59.4% of men, 50.7% of women, and 54.9% of the total population are overweight. Consequently, heightened efforts are being directed to control this epidemic. Clinicians have shown a renewed interest in the use of appetite suppressants and other antiobesity agents concomitantly with conventional treatment of diet education, exercise training, and lifestyle modification. This article reviews appetite suppressants both from a historical perspective and currently, and then presents a rationale for the continued use of antiobesity agents in the management of obesity.