The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 275 No 7360 p143
30 July 2005

Detailed text aims to assist patients and health professionals in weight management

‘Best medicine: weight management’, edited by George Kassianos. Pp xviii+98. Price £9.95. Oxfordshire: CSF Medical Communications Ltd; 2004. ISBN 1 905064 91 8

The ‘Best medicine’ series claims it consists of “practical and authoritative guides providing detailed information for patients, carers and the general public”. Much of the content is drawn directly from the journal Drugs in Context and was originally intended for health care professionals. Rather than “dumbing down” the content the editor has included a glossary and explanatory patient notes to aid understanding.

The book needs to be studied in detail to appreciate its strengths, as some sections are highly technical and are not an easy read. It comprises a disease overview of obesity, comprehensive drug reviews of orlistat and sibutramine, and a section on improving practice. The drug reviews are informative and include comprehensive clinical trial evidence.

I would recommend this book to patients who like to have a detailed understanding of the medicines they take. This book could also be useful background reading for those whose jobs involve helping people with weight management problems, as some of them will be on drug therapy. I could see a place for recommending this book to any involved health care professionals, such as dietitians, practice nurses, general practitioners, and pharmacists, as well as possibly those such as slimming consultants and specialist gym staff.

With any recommendation to read it would come a warning not to attempt to understand everything in it.

The ‘Best medicine’ in the title reflects the fact that the emphasis of the book is on drugs used. The book is not a practical guide on “how to lose weight” and cannot be recommended as such.


Hilary Davies

Hilary Davies is a community pharmacist with a special interest in weight management