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Addition of orlistat to conventional treatment in adolescents with severe obesity

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Abstract

To investigate the efficacy and tolerability of orlistat in obese adolescents, a prospective, open-label, randomised, controlled pilot trial was performed. A total of 22 adolescents with exogeneous obesity were started on orlistat (120 mg tid) and a daily multivitamin preparation in addition to conventional treatment which included nutritional and lifestyle modification programmes. The control group consisted of 20 obese adolescents who had similar duration of follow-up under conventional treatment alone. Of the 22 patients, 7 dropped out within the 1st month of the trial due to side-effects attributable to orlistat. The remaining 15 patients on orlistat were followed for 5–15 months (average duration of treatment 11.7±3.7 months). The control group was similar in age, sex, and duration of follow-up (10.2±3.7 months, range 6–17 months) to the orlistat group. Compared to initial body weight, patients in the orlistat group lost −6.27±5.4 kg, whereas those in the control group gained 4.16±6.45 kg (P<0.001) during the study period. Patients in the orlistat group lost −7.65%±6.5% of their initial body weight, whereas, those of the control group gained 5.7%±8.3% (P<0.001). The body mass index decreased in the orlistat group by −4.09±2.9 kg/m2 while it increased by +0.11±2.49 kg/m2 in the control group (P<0.001). Mild gastrointestinal complaints (frequent stools) were experienced by all patients in the orlistat group. Conclusion:Orlistat could be a useful adjunct in the treatment of severe obesity in adolescents; however, gastrointestinal side-effects limit its usefulness in almost one in three adolescents.

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Abbreviations

BMI :

body mass index

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Turkish Academy of Sciences within the framework of the Young Scientist Award program (EA/TUBA-GEBIP/2001–1-1).

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Correspondence to Abdullah Bereket.

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This work was presented in part at the 41st Annual Meeting of the ESPE, Madrid, 2002.

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Ozkan, B., Bereket, A., Turan, S. et al. Addition of orlistat to conventional treatment in adolescents with severe obesity. Eur J Pediatr 163, 738–741 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-004-1534-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-004-1534-6

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