In clinical studies, people treated with XENICAL and a reduced-calorie diet with no more than 30% of calories from fat achieved significantly greater weight loss than people who were treated with diet alone. The studies were designed with all participants eating a reduced-calorie for 4 weeks, followed by the diet plus XENICAL or the diet alone for 52 weeks. After 52 weeks, those taking the diet plus XENICAL lost an average of twice as much weight as those who used the diet alone (approximately 13.4 lbs versus 5.8 lbs). Furthermore, 69.1% of patients receiving XENICAL lost 3% of their total body weight (an average of 13 lbs) after 3 months and 19 lbs after 1 year.
There is clear scientific evidence that if you are overweight, losing as little as 5% to 10% of your body weight can result in improved health. In studies of XENICAL, almost two-thirds of people treated with XENICAL plus diet successfully lost at least 5% of their body weight after 2 years. In comparison, only half of the people treated with diet alone managed to lose 5% of their weight.
Weight loss with XENICAL and a healthy diet also improves a number of weight-related health risks. Studies show that weight loss with XENICAL can:
- Decrease total LDL cholesterol (level of low-density lipoprotein—also known as “bad cholesterol”), which transfers cholesterol throughout the body
- Improve the LDL/HDL ratio
- Reduce blood pressure
- Reduce levels of insulin, a hormone that allows glucose (sugar) to enter the body’s cells
- Reduce the risk or delay the progression of type 2 diabetes in patients
Note: The long-term benefits of orlistat on weight-related illnesses and life
expectancy have not been studied.
drug information
