Clinical Management of Obesity (Technical Insights)

Frost & Sullivan
June 13, 2006
127 Pages - SKU: MC1316798
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Research Overview

This Frost & Sullivan research service titled Clinical Management of Obesity provides an in-depth analysis about the various commercial weight-loss products and therapies currently available in the market, and those on the verge of commercialization. In this research service, Frost & Sullivan's expert analysts thoroughly examine the following applications/technologies: diet therapies, lifestyle modifications, pharmacotherapy, bariatric surgeries, and medical devices for weight loss.

Market Sectors

Expert Frost & Sullivan analysts thoroughly examine the following market sectors in this research:
  • Emerging treatment technologies
  • Trends related to pharmacotherapy, lifestlyle modifications, medical weightloss devices, and bariatric surgeries
Technologies

The following technologies are covered in this research:
  • Diet therapy: This involves reducing the amount of calories consumed, by manipulating a diet. Diets for weight loss include low-calorie, very low-calorie, and low-fat diets.
  • Lifestyle Modification: It includes physical and behavior therapy. Physical therapy, which is vital for maintaining weight loss, aims at moving sedentary people into an active state. Types of physical activity include aerobic exercise, walking, jogging, cycling, and swimming, all of which must be begun slowly and be gradually increased in intensity. Behavior therapy helps overcome barriers to dietary therapy or physical activity. Most behavioral modification programs encourage self-monitoring of both diet and exercise.
  • Pharmacotherapy: Drug therapy or pharmacotherapy is a long-term treatment approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It can be a helpful adjunct for treating obesity in patients who have not responded to lifestyle changes. Pharmacotherapy is used for both weight loss and weight maintenance.
  • Medical Devices: These are a simpler and safer alternative to drugs and bariatric surgeries, for moderately obese patients. They are likely to be more widely adopted in the future since they are minimally invasive. Some of the devices in the experimental stages include the implantable gastric stimulator and the intragastric balloon.
  • Bariatric Surgery: This is recommended for morbidly obese individuals with serious medical conditions, for those with a BMI exceeding 40 and also those who have not responded to diet, exercise, or medication. These are invasive procedures, which involve resizing the capacity of the gastro intestinal tract in order to reduce food intake and calorie absorption, thereby reducing excess body weight.
Market Overview

A Slew of Techniques for Weight Reduction to Greatly Aid in Controlling Obesity

The increasing prevalence of obesity and its associated health risks such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and stroke have created a crucial need for weight reduction therapies. Although various methods of weight reduction such as diet therapies, physical exercise, and pharmaceutical drugs are available, they do not have uniform effects on obese people. Hence, it is imperative to be aware of the various treatment options and choose the one that is best suited to a person’s genetic makeup and degree of obesity.

"Currently, weight-loss trends are witnessing a partial transition from harmful drugs with adverse side effects toward reliable methods such as bariatric surgeries, which give immediate and guaranteed results unlike the long term use of drugs" states the analyst of this research service. Severely obese patients who have failed to lose weight through drugs, diet therapy, and physical exercise typically opt for bariatric surgery. These surgeries ensure weight loss and patients enjoy better quality of life, as well as increased life expectancies.

Demand for Effective Anti-obesity Therapies Drives Innovations in the Field

"A number of focused molecular drug targets coupled with significant advances in drug discovery technologies are rekindling interest in the efficiency of therapeutic weight-loss drugs," notes the analyst. "As a result, there are several new drugs in the pipeline and numerous clinical trials in progress." Realizing this vast potential of anti-obesity treatments, healthcare companies have begun to invest in the development of innovative therapies in areas such as pharmaceutical drugs, bariatric procedures, and medical devices. Scientists’ efforts are being buoyed by a number of ongoing research activities on anti-obesity therapies all over the world.

The increasing use of laproscopy in bariatric surgeries such as the Lap-Band enables surgeons to effortlessly perform a greater number of weight-loss surgeries in a minimally invasive manner. Since bariatric surgery is a well-established modality for long-term weight control in severely obese individuals, researchers in this field are working on improving techniques to develop safer and more effective weight-loss procedures. Apart from this, minimally invasive medical devices such as gastric pace makers, intragastric balloons, and nerve stimulation devices are likely to become popular in future.