Buy Prescription Medications to Treat Overweight and Obesity. Buy Saxenda Online

What are overweight and obesity?

Healthcare professionals use the Body Mass Index (BMI), a measure of your weight in relation to your height, to define overweight and obesity.

People who have a BMI between 25 and 30 are considered to be overweight. Obesity is defined as having a BMI of 30 or greater. You can calculate your BMI NIH external link to learn if you are overweight, have obesity, or have severe obesity, which may increase your risk of health problems. Your healthcare professional can assess your individual risk caused by your weight.

If you are struggling with your weight, a healthy eating plan and regular physical activity may help you lose weight and keep it off over the long term. If these lifestyle changes are not enough to help you lose weight or maintain your weight loss, your healthcare professional may prescribe medications as part of your weight-control program.

How common are overweight and obesity?

Obesity is a chronic disease that affects more than 4 in 10 adults in the United States, and nearly 1 in 10 Americans have severe obesity.¹

How do weight management medications work?

Prescription medications to treat overweight and obesity work in different ways. For example, some medications may help you feel less hungry or full sooner. Other medications may make it harder for your body to absorb fat from the foods you eat.

Who might benefit from weight management medications?

Weight management medications are meant to help people who have health problems related to being overweight or obese. Healthcare professionals use BMI to help decide whether you might benefit from weight management medications. Your health care professional may prescribe a medication to treat your overweight or obesity if you are an adult with

• a BMI of 30 or greater
• a BMI of 27 or greater, and you have weight-related health problems such as high blood pressure NIH external link or type 2 diabetes

Weight management medications aren’t for everyone with a high BMI. If you are overweight or have obesity, you might be able to lose weight with a lifestyle program that changes your behaviors and improves your eating and physical activity habits. A lifestyle program may also address other things that cause you to gain weight, such as eating triggers and not getting enough sleep.

Can children or teenagers take weight management medications?

Most of the weight management medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration External link (FDA) are for adults only. Two prescription medications, orlistat NIH external link (Xenical)² and liraglutide (Saxenda),³ are approved by the FDA for children ages 12 and older. A third prescription medication, setmelanotide (IMCIVREE),⁴ is approved by the FDA for children ages 6 years and older who have rare genetic disorders causing obesity.

Can medications replace physical activity and healthy eating habits as a way to lose weight?

Medications don’t replace physical activity or healthy eating habits as a way to lose weight. Studies show that weight management medications work best when combined with a lifestyle program. Ask your healthcare professional about lifestyle treatment programs for weight management that will work for you.

Weight management medications don’t replace physical activity and healthy eating habits.

What are the benefits of using prescription medications to lose weight?

When combined with changes to behavior, including healthy eating and increased physical activity, prescription medications help some people lose weight and maintain weight loss. On average, after 1 year, people who take prescription medications as part of a lifestyle program lose 3% to 12% more of their starting body weight than people in a lifestyle program who do not take medication.

Research shows that some people taking prescription weight management medications lose 10% or more of their starting weight.^5,6 Results vary by medication and by a person.

Weight loss of 5% to 10% of your starting body weight may help improve your health by lowering blood sugar, blood pressure, and triglyceride levels. Losing weight also can improve some other health problems related to being overweight and obesity, such as joint pain and sleep apnea. Most weight loss takes place within the first 6 months of starting the medication.

What are the concerns about using prescription medications to lose weight?

Experts are concerned that, in some cases, the side effects of prescription medications that treat overweight and obesity may outweigh the benefits. For this reason, never take weight management medication only to improve the way you look. In the past, some weight management medications were linked to serious health problems, and they were removed from U.S. markets.

Possible side effects vary by medication and how it acts on your body. Most side effects are mild and most often improve if you continue to take the medication. Rarely, serious side effects can occur.

Tips for taking weight management medication

• Follow your healthcare professional’s instructions about weight management medications.
• Buy your medication from a pharmacy or online distributor approved by your healthcare professional.
• Only take weight management medication to support your healthy eating and physical activity program.
• Know the side effects and warnings before taking any medication.
• If you are not losing weight after 12 weeks on the full dose of your medication, ask your healthcare professional whether you should stop taking it.
• Talk with your health care professional about any other medications you are taking, including supplements and vitamins, when considering weight management medications.
• Never take weight management medications during pregnancy or if you are planning a pregnancy.

Which weight management medication might work for me?

Choosing a medication to treat overweight or obesity is a decision between you and your health care professional. Important factors to consider include

• the likely benefits of weight loss
• the medication’s possible side effects
• your current health issues and other medications
• your family’s medical history
• cost

How long will I need to take weight management medication?

How long you will need to take weight management medication depends on whether the drug helps you lose weight and keep it off and whether you experience serious side effects.

If you have lost enough weight to improve your health and are not experiencing serious side effects, your healthcare professional may advise you to stay on the medication indefinitely. If you do not lose at least 5% of your starting weight after 12 weeks on the full dose of your medication, your healthcare professional will probably advise you to stop taking it. Your healthcare professional may also

• change your treatment plan or consider using a different weight management medication
• have you tried different lifestyles, physical activity, or eating programs
• change your other medications that might be causing weight gain
• refer you to a bariatric surgeon to see if weight-loss (bariatric) surgery might be an option for you

Because obesity is a chronic disease, you may need to continue your new eating and physical activity habits and other behaviors for years—or even a lifetime—to improve your health and maintain a healthier weight.

Will I regain some weight after I stop taking weight management medication?

You probably will regain some weight after you stop taking weight management medication. Developing and maintaining healthy eating habits and increasing physical activity may help you regain less weight or keep it off.

Federal physical activity guidelines External link (PDF, 14.5 MB) recommends at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity and at least 2 days a week of muscle-strengthening activities. You may need to do more than 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week to reach or maintain your weight-loss goal.

Will insurance cover the cost of weight management medication?

Some, but not all, insurance plans cover medications that treat overweight and obesity. Contact your insurance provider to find out if your plan covers these medications.

What medications are available to treat overweight and obesity?

The table below lists prescription drugs approved by the FDA for weight loss. The FDA has approved five of these drugs—orlistat (Xenical, Alli), phentermine-topiramate (Qsymia), naltrexone-bupropion (Contrave), liraglutide (Saxenda), and semaglutide (Wegovy)—for long-term use. A sixth approved drug, setmelanotide (IMCIVREE), is limited to people who have been diagnosed with one of three specific rare genetic disorders, which must be confirmed by genetic testing. You can keep taking these medications as long as you are benefiting from treatment and not experiencing serious side effects.

Some weight management medications that curb appetite are approved by the FDA for short-term use only, for up to 12 weeks. Although some healthcare professionals prescribe them for longer periods, not many research studies have looked at how safe and effective they are for long-term use.

Never take weight management medications if you are pregnant. If you are planning to get pregnant, you should also avoid these medications, as some of them may harm the fetus.