American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 55, 318S-319S, Copyright © 1992 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc

REVIEW ARTICLES

Pharmacological treatment of obesity: digestion and absorption inhibitors-clinical perspective

M Berger
Department of Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases (WHO Collaborating for Diabetes), Heinrich-Heine-University, Dusseldorf, Germany.

Dependent on the dosages used, digestion and absorption inhibitors or disaccharidase inhibitors, such as Acarbose, might cause malabsorption of nutrients, and hence, among other effects, affect caloric balances. This negative effect on caloric balance has actually been well documented in animal experimentation. However, in nondiabetic subjects with excessive degrees of obesity, no consistent weight reduction could be induced by disaccharidase inhibitors. Subsequently, Acarbose has been advocated for type 2 diabetic patients in dosages that might reduce postprandial hyperglycemia and insulinemia, whereas significant degrees of malabsorption should be excluded. At these dosages of the drug, there is no clinical perspective with regard to weight-reducing (side) effects of disaccharidase inhibitors. Whether a hypothetical diminution of serum insulin daily profiles during Acarbose treatment in obese type 2 diabetic patients might contribute to a normalization of the metabolic syndrome and to a facilitation of weight-reducing efforts remains speculative. At present, there does not seem to be much rationale in trying to exploit digestion and/or absorption inhibitors for weight-reduction therapies in obesity, unless they are used to enforce a negative caloric balance by malabsorption of nutrients.