Future Developments in the Area of Pharmacotherapy

Obesity is a chronic and highly prevalent medical condition associated with increased risk of developing numerous comorbidities such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. The etiology of obesity is multifactorial and the condition remains difficult to treat. In the United States, a nation of 60 million obese adults (), there are only a few antiobesity medications available or approved for the treatment of obesity. In addition, the short-term effect of these medications is modest and their long-term efficacy is doubtful, because rebound weight gain is common; therefore, the efforts of researchers and the pharmaceutical industry are currently focused on developing new potent antiobesity medications.