Diet Aid Works Best with Other Life Changes.(Meridia)

2001 FEB 8 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center reported that obese women lost an average 24.4 pounds (10.8% of their body weight) in one year, when they used the weight loss drug, Meridia, in combination with a comprehensive lifestyle modification program that included diet and exercise.

This was compared to a loss of only 8.4 pounds (4.1%) for women treated by medication alone.

Participants in both groups were prescribed 10 to 15 milligrams per day of Meridia, a weight loss medication manufactured by the Knoll Pharmaceutical Co. They were also told to limit their daily food intake to 1,200-1,500 calories, and to exercise four to five times a week. For the first five months, those in the lifestyle modification program also attended weekly group sessions in which they learned to keep food and activity records, to plan their meals and snacks, and to control situations associated with problem eating.

According to the study findings, published in the January 22, 2001, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, women in the group that received only medication had 10 brief physician visits over the year, during which a doctor monitored their health but did not provide detailed instruction in lifestyle modification. These participants received general advice and support, comparable to treatment that would be provided by most primary care doctors.

"The results clearly demonstrate the benefits of combining medication with lifestyle modification," said Thomas A. Wadden, PhD, Weight and Eating Disorders Program at the University of Pennsylvania and the study's lead author.

"These medications may decrease the desire to eat by reducing hunger and cravings or by increasing feelings of fullness; they modify internal (physiological) factors that control eating," Wadden said. "Lifestyle modification, by contrast, helps people control their external environment by teaching them to ...