Français

About Mylan

Products

Newsroom

Learning Centre

CE Lessons

CE Plus

Centre for Collaborative Care

Quick Health Guide

CLEAR x

CE LESSONS

A review of obesity and weight management for pharmacists

May 2012

Obesity is a growing epidemic and a public health concern in Canada. The prevalence of obesity in adults in Canada is 24%, which represents an 8% to 10% increase compared with 20 years ago. Obesity is also on the rise in children, which is cause for concern, as obese children tend to remain obese as adults. Many factors can affect the risk of obesity, including socioeconomic status, education, and cultural norms. Increasing emphasis is being placed on the need for communitybased interventions to address healthcare issues associated with current levels of obesity. As primary healthcare providers, pharmacists have an important role in the prevention and management of obesity.

» Read in PDF

» Take this test

1.5 CE Credit

This CE is produced by Pharmacy Practice through an unrestricted educational grant from Mylan.
Reprinted with permission from Pharmacy Practice

Go Deeper

Explore what other health professionals are learning about obesity and weight management for pharmacists

Open+

Genetic Predictors of Weight Loss and Weight Regain After Intensive Lifestyle Modification, Metformin Treatment, or Standard Care in the Diabetes Prevention Program

Multiple obesity-predisposing gene variants are known (1,2), which may interact with lifestyle to modify obesity risk (3). It is unknown whether these variants influence weight regain (WR) after intentional weight loss (WL). We therefore tested associations of 16 obesity-predisposing variants with weight change in Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) participants.

» Read More

Effect of Weight Loss on Free Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I in Obese Women With Hyposomatotropism

RASMUSSEN, MICHAEL H., ANDERS JUUL, AND JANNIK HILSTED. Effect of weight loss on free insulinlike growth factor-I in obese women with hyposomatotropism.

» Read More

Massive Weight Loss Decreases Corticosteroid-Binding Globulin Levels and Increases Free Cortisol in Healthy Obese Patients

Obesity, insulin resistance, and weight loss have been associated with changes in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. So far, no conclusive data relating to this association are available. In this study, we aim to investigate the effects of massive weight loss on cortisol suppressibility, cortisol-binding globulin (CBG), and free cortisol index (FCI) in formerly obese women.

» Read More

Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease

Although there are multiple long-term deleterious health effects of excess weight, obesity as defined by BMI 30 kg/m2 is associated with premature atherosclerosis, increased risk of myocardial infarction and heart failure, and decreased survival, largely because of cardiovascular deaths, particularly in extreme weight categories

» Read More

Behavioral Therapy for Management of Obesity

Obesity is a major public health problem and is implicated in the rising prevalence of cardiac disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus in India. Management of an obese patient includes therapeutic lifestyle changes of increasing physical activity and reducing calorie intake. This combination can result in about a 10% loss of initial body weight. To reinforce this intervention, behavioral therapy needs to be incorporated into the overall intervention under the belief that obesity is a result of maladaptive eating behaviors and exercise patterns. This review explains the principles of behavioral therapy, including the underlying assumptions and characteristics. The common components of behavioral therapy for obesity are explained. The different settings where behavioral therapy can be administered are mentioned. The review focuses on how behavioral therapy can be incorporated in the routine clinical management of obesity by primary and secondary care physicians who encounter obese patients.

» Read More

Starches, sugars and obesity

The rising prevalence of obesity, not only in adults but also in children and adolescents, is one of the most important public health problems in developed and developing countries. As one possible way to tackle obesity, a great interest has been stimulated in understanding the relationship between different types of dietary carbohydrate and appetite regulation, body weight and body composition. The present article reviews the conclusions from recent reviews and meta-analyses on the effects of different starches and sugars on body weight management and metabolic disturbances, and provides an update of the most recent studies on this topic. From the literature reviewed in this paper, potential beneficial effects of intake of starchy foods, especially those containing slowly-digestible and resistant starches, and potential detrimental effects of high intakes of fructose become apparent. This supports the intake of whole grains, legumes and vegetables, which contain more appropriate sources of carbohydrates associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular and other chronic diseases, rather than foods rich in sugars, especially in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages.

» Read More

Carbohydrate Intake & Obesity

Carbohydrates are among the macronutrients that provide energy and can thus contribute to excess energy intake and subsequent weight gain. There is no clear evidence that altering the proportion of total carbohydrate in the diet is an important determinant of energy intake. However, there is evidence that sugar-sweetened beverages do not induce satiety to the same extent as solid forms of carbohydrate, and that increases in sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption are associated with weight gain.

» Read More

Patients Have Questions. You Have Answers

Browse and print our collection of patient fact sheets on obesity and weight management for pharmacists

Open+

What Patients Need to Know about obesity and weight management for pharmacists

Obesity

Obesity is a leading cause of preventable illness and death in North America. In recent years, the number of overweight people in industrialized countries has increased significantly, so much so that the World Health Organization (WHO) has called obesity an epidemic. In the United States, over 65% of the adult population is overweight. In Canada, about 40% to 60% of adults have a weight problem. People who are obese are at a much higher risk for serious medical conditions such as high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, gallbladder disease, and different cancers than people who have a healthy weight.

» Read More

Diabetes

Diabetes is a condition where people don't produce enough insulin to meet their body's needs and/or their cells don't respond properly to insulin. Insulin is important because it moves glucose, a simple sugar, into the body's cells from the blood. It also has a number of other effects on metabolism. The food that people eat provides the body with glucose, which is used by the cells as a source of energy. If insulin isn't available or doesn't work correctly to move glucose from the blood into cells, glucose will stay in the blood. High blood glucose levels are toxic and cells that don't get glucose are lacking the fuel they need. There are two main kinds of diabetes: type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. More than 90% of all people with diabetes have type 2. Overall, about 30 million people in North America have diabetes. Only about two-thirds of people with type 2 diabetes are aware of it and are receiving treatment because, for many people, early symptoms are not noticeable without testing. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas cannot make insulin. Everyone with type 1 diabetes requires insulin injections. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not make enough insulin or the body does not use insulin properly. It usually occurs in adults, although in some cases children may be affected. People with type 2 diabetes usually have a family history of this condition and are most often overweight. People with type 2 diabetes may eventually need insulin injections. This condition occurs most commonly in people of First Nations descent, Hispanics, and North Americans of African descent. Another less common form is gestational diabetes, a temporary condition that occurs during pregnancy. According to the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA), about 4% of women, and up to 18% of First Nations women, will develop gestational diabetes. The problem usually clears up after delivery, but women who have had gestational diabetes have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.

» Read More

Coronary Artery Disease

Coronary artery disease (CAD), also called heart disease, refers to the narrowing of heart arteries due to atherosclerosis (see below). The heart muscle does not get enough oxygen when heart arteries are narrowed. If the heart is starved of oxygen, chest pain (angina) occurs. If an artery is completely blocked, a heart attack results. A heart attack is medically referred to as a myocardial infarction (MI). CAD is the most common form of heart disease and heart attack is a leading killer of both men and women. Many of these deaths can be prevented because some risk factors for CAD are controllable. Some of these controllable risk factors include high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and diabetes. There are other controllable risk factors related to lifestyle, such as not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, reducing alcohol consumption, and getting physically active. Although medical treatments for heart disease have come a long way, controlling risk factors remains the key to preventing illness and death from CAD.

» Read More

What Patients Need to Know about obesity and weight management for pharmacists

» Xenical