Introduction to Obesity
Obesity is a chronic and complex health condition, influenced by a combination of genetic, environmental, and behavioural factors. Recognition and understanding these factors is an important aspect of helping your patients manage their weight, some of which are outside your patients control.1
Obesity is typically assessed using the Body Mass Index (BMI) calculation. Additional assessments may include evaluating waist circumference, body composition, and assessing obesity-related comorbidities. Medical history-taking and physical examination also help to identify potential underlying causes and associated risk factors.
Managing the care for your patient with obesity involves a patient-centred approach. Personalised treatment plans, incorporating lifestyle modifications, such as dietary changes, increased physical activity, and behavioural interventions should focus on helping the patient achieve the best weight that they can sustain over time.2 In some cases, pharmacotherapy and bariatric surgery may be considered.
It is important for Health care professionals to recognise the impact of emotional factors, such as stress, self-esteem, body image, and social stigma, and provide support and resources (or refer to other appropriate health care professionals) for managing these challenges.
Consilient Health provide a range of educational webinars on various topics including obesity. If you wish to register for our webinars or view previous webinar recordings please click here.
Mysimba
Consilient Health and Orexigen Therapeutics Ireland Ltd supply a medicine called Mysimba which is indicated, as an adjunct to a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity, for the management of weight in adult patients (≥18 years) with an initial Body Mass Index (BMI) of;
- ≥ 30 kg/m2 (obese), or
- ≥ 27 kg/m2 to < 30 kg/m2 (overweight) in the presence of one or more weight-related co- morbidities (e.g., type 2 diabetes, dyslipidaemia, or controlled hypertension)
Treatment with Mysimba should be discontinued after 16 weeks if patients have not lost at least 5% of their initial body weight.
Mysimba has proven efficacy in weight loss. Patients in the responders group lost an average of 11.7% of their baseline weight at one year*.3,4
*vs 8.8% weight loss among patients receiving placebo.
Consider Mysimba for your patients with emotional eating.
Guidelines suggest the use of Mysimba in patients with overweight or obesity with emotional eating.5
Your patients may find it hard to control cravings that are associated with emotional eating.5,6
Consider Mysimba for your patients with emotional eating as due to its Mode of Action in the brain it is designed to help control hunger and cravings. †5,6
Mysimba reached 647,266 patient-years of use worldwide as of December 31, 2023 4,7.
Further information on Mysimba can be found below:
The Measure Me BMI app – A Paediatric Weight Management Tool
The Measure Me app has been developed to calculate the BMI SDS and to identify if a child is a healthy weight or on the lighter or heavier side of a healthy weight.
Link to: BMI App
This app is for use in calculating the BMI of Children only.
Mysimba is not indicated for use in children.
Summary of Product Characteristics can be found at www.medicines.ie.
References
1. 9 reasons why obesity is not a choice. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/9-reasons-obesity-is-not-a-choice.
2. https://www.mybestweight.ie/mybestweight.
3. Fujioka K, Plodkowski R, O’Neil PM, Gilder K, Walsh B,Greenway FL. The relationship between early weight loss and weight loss at 1 year with naltrexone ER/bupropion ER combination therapy. Int J Obes (Lond). 2016;40:1369-1375.
4. Mysimba summary of product characteristics available on medicine.ie.
5. Chianelli et al, Italian guidelines for the management of adult individuals with overweight and obesity and metabolic comorbidities that are resistant to behavioral treatment, Journal of Endocrinological Investigation, 2023, www.medicines.ie.
6. Acosta et al, Selection of Antiobesity Medications Based on Phenotypes Enhances Weight Loss: A Pragmatic Trial in an Obesity Clinic, Obesity (2021) 29, 662-671.
7. Data on file, Orexigen Pharmaceuticals.
† The exact neurochemical appetite suppressant effects of naltrexone/bupropion are not fully understood.
The information on this website is intended for Republic of Ireland residents only.
MYS-0362-001 09/24
IE-CH-1602(2) Date of Preparation October 2024
