Endocrinologist warns about the importance of obesity medications

The Federal Supreme Court (STF) overturned a law that allowed the sale of obesity medications. The 2017 law permitted the use of certain medications, which has now been revoked These medications were banned in 2011 and returned to the market in 2017, and yesterday they were revoked. The medications anfepramone, femproporex, and mazindol are prohibited, and sibutramine was mentioned but continues to be sold normally. According to endocrinologist and sports medicine specialist Gisele Lorenzoni, the resolution negatively impacts the treatment of obesity, even though such medications are being used on a smaller scale nowadays. "These medications (anfepramone, femproporex, and mazindol) are already used on a smaller scale, but their prohibition always affects treatment because each patient responds better to a specific type of medication," explains the endocrinologist. According to Gisele, the prevalence of obesity has been increasing significantly, especially in the last year due to the pandemic. "It is a chronic disease and should be treated as such, just like hypertension and diabetes, for example," she explains. "There are other more modern, new medications with excellent effects on weight control, but they are still costly, which greatly complicates the treatment of obesity patients and further reduces our therapeutic arsenal," emphasizes the specialist. Brazil is one of the countries with the fewest medications for obesity, which makes care even more challenging. "Even with new weight loss medications that have helped us a lot, we encounter barriers with costs making treatment of the disease even more unfeasible," concludes the endocrinologist.   Obesity Obesity is defined by a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 – calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height squared – and is a chronic disease that leads to various other health problems, including cancer.