_{Please note that I am not a physician. The content of this hub is provided purely for informational purposes, and should not in any way be considered medical adivce. A desire to make changes to your diet or exercise habits or to take medication to aid in your weight loss efforts should be discussed with your physician prior to implementation.}

Obesity in America is an epidemic.ObsesityinAmerica.org reports that 127 million American's are overweight, with 60 million falling into the category of "obese" (those with a Body Mass Index, or BMI, greater than 30), and 9 million classified as "extemely obese" (having a BMI greater than 40). The site also reports that 62% of women and 67% of men are considered overweight.

If you're one of the millions of Americans who is overweight and has tried numerous fad diets, weight loss programs, or fitness regimes, you can probably attest to the fact that losing weight is no picnic. Even those who do find weight loss success frequently find that their succeses are short lived or that final goals are difficult to reach.

Sometimes it's not just as simple as putting down the Doritos. While the temptation of tasty, high-calorie, and high-fat convenience foods has certainly played a large part in the average American's "bottom line", other factors such as genetics must also be considered. True, too, is the fact that the average person is simply not as active as were our ancestors. We no longer need to walk or ride horses to get where we need to go - we have cars. Our means of supporting ourselves requires sitting down all day, more often than not, as opposed to the farming and smithing occupations that supported our predecessors.

One bright light is modern medicine. Thanks to advances in medicine, we live far longer than did our ancestors, even with our expanding waistlines. Even better is the fact that medicine has given us tools with which we can supplement our dieting efforts, helping us to lose more weight than we might otherwise be able to do on our own.

While there are many over the counter weight loss supplements, I do not recommend trying them without the go ahead of a physician. For the purpose of this hub, we'll be focusing on the weight loss medications that have received approval from the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) for prescription.

There are two types of prescription weight loss drugs:

1. Appetite Suppressants work on the brain, increasing levels of the chemicals that control appetite and mood, serotonin and catecholamine. This sends the body the signal that it is not hungry.
2. Fat Absorption Inhibitors work by preventing the body from digesting and absorbing fat that has been eaten. The fat is then eliminated from the body through bowel movements.

• Phentermine is sold under the brand name of Adipex^® (Gate Pharmaceuticals) as well as others.
• Sibutramine is sold under the brand name Meridia^® (Abbott Laboratories) and is one of the more well-known prescription appetite suppressants. In a 12-month clinical study of patients using Meridia^® , those patients taking 10 mg per day averaged a weight loss of 10 pounds and patients taking 15 mg per day averaged weight loss of 14 pounds. Patients participating in the study using diet alone lost an average of only 3 ½ pounds.

Both Adipex^® and Meridia^® are generally prescribed along with physician recommendations for a reduced-calorie diet and a regular, moderate-intensity exercise program for those patients who are well enough to exercise.

Orlistat is sold by prescription only under the brand name of Xenical^® (Roche Laboratories). Xenical^® is recommended for use with a reduced-calorie diet with no more than 30% of calories coming from fat. Xenical^® blocks absorption of up to 1/3 of the fat eaten. In clinical trials, those who were treated with Xenical^® plus diet lost a significant amount more weight than those who were treated with diet alone.

Orlistat is also sold as Alli^®, the only FDA-approved, over-the-counter weight loss drug available.