Orlistat, a New Drug for Weight Reduction.

Orlistat is a new weight-reducing drug that works by inhibiting gastrointestinal lipases and lowering fat absorption. Two double-blind, randomized trials supported by the manufacturer tested an oral dose of 120 mg three times daily.

A European multicenter group compared orlistat with placebo in 688 obese persons on a hypocaloric diet. At one year, average weight loss was significantly greater with orlistat (10.3 vs. 6.1 kg with placebo); 39 percent of the orlistat patients lost more than 10 percent of initial bodyweight, versus 18 percent of those on placebo. All subjects were again randomized to orlistat or placebo and advanced to a eucaloric (weight maintenance) diet for a second year of study; orlistat was more effective in preventing reg…