Meridia helps adolescents lose 17.2 pounds

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Saturday, September 20, 2003 4:00 pm Email this article
Adolescents who were part of a family-based, behavioral weight control program lost twice as much weight when given Meridia (sibutramine) according to a recent study.

Adolescents given Meridia (sibutramine) lost 17.2 pounds in six months compared to 7 pounds for those given a placebo. The weight loss represented 8.5 percent of body weight for the Meridia (sibutramine) group and 4 percent in the placebo group.

The study included eighty-two obese adolescents with a body mass index (BMI) of 32 to 44 who were 13- to 17-years-old.

During an additional six months adolescents who continued taking Meridia (sibutramine) gained 1.8 pounds whereas those who switched from taking the placebo to Meridia (sibutramine) lost an additional 2.9 pounds.

The dose of Meridia (sibutramine) was reduced to 10 mg in sixteen subjects, to 5 mg in seven additional subjects, and discontinued in another ten subjects because of side effects—6 because of an increase in blood pressure or pulse rate, 2 because of a black and blue spot on the skin, one because of ventricular premature complexes, and one because of a skin rash.

in 23 adolescents and discontinued in 10 because of increases in blood pressure, pulse rate or other symptoms.

The authors concluded that Meridia (sibutramine) significantly increases weight loss in adolescents compared to behavioral therapy alone, but that Meridia (sibutramine) must be carefully monitored in both adults and adolescents to control increases in blood pressure and pulse rate.

REFERENCE

Berkowitz R, Wadden T, Tershakovec A, Cronquist J. Behavior therapy and sibutramine for the treatment of adolescent obesity: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2003 Apr 9, 289(14):1805-12.

AUTHOR

R. Berkowitz
Department of Psychiatry
Weight and Eating Disorders Program
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Philadelphia 19104-3309
USA
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