The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 280 No 7488 p143
9 February 2008

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Weight management role promoted after data show obesity increases

Just under a quarter of all adults in England were classified as obese in 2006, representing a 15 per cent increase on 1993 figures, a recent report from The Information Centre reveals. And in the seven years up to 2006, prescriptions dispensed for obesity rose more than eight-fold.

In response to the figures, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society has highlighted community pharmacy’s role in providing services for people who are overweight.

In its report “Statistics on obesity, physical activity and diet”, The Information Centre says that 1.06 million prescription items were dispensed for the treatment of obesity in 2006 compared with 127,000 in 1999. Some 73 per cent of prescriptions were for orlistat and 25 per cent for sibutramine in 2006.

David Pruce, director of practice and quality improvement at the Society, said: “While antiobesity drugs do have an important role to play in tackling the widespread obesity problem, it is important that the public are aware of the holistic approaches in weight management which are available through community pharmacies.”

He pointed out that community pharmacists now have a greater responsibility for delivering the promotion of healthier lifestyles and are well placed to play an effective part in the management of obesity and obesity-linked illnesses.

“There are models currently being offered in a number of areas which are utilising the skills of pharmacists to offer lifestyle advice for people in order to manage their weight in the long term,” he said, drawing attention to a service offered by pharmacists in Coventry (PJ, 25 August 2007, p202).

The Information Centre report says that although women and men were equally likely to be obese a greater proportion of men than women were overweight (43 per cent compared with 32 per cent) in 2006.

Responding to media reports that the NHS is spending too much on drugs to deal with obesity, Roche, manufacturer of orlistat (Xenical), said in a statement that “treating obesity with effective drugs forms less than 1.5 per cent of the £3.3–3.7bn the NHS spends annually on tackling obesity and its consequences”.