A group of researchers from the School of Pharmacy and Nutrition of the University of Navarra has analyzed the panorama of pharmacological treatment for obesity in Europe and the USA, where there are five anti-obesity drugs prescribed, although only one of them is authorized in Spain. There are five anti-obesity drugs prescribed, although only one of them is authorized in Spain.

According to the article, published in the journal Trends in Pharmacological Sciences - one of the journals with the greatest impact on its area- very few of the drugs being studied receive approval to reach the market. "This is the case in Spain, where only one of them has been marketed. However, this review has allowed us to confirm that the most effective treatments result from combining two drugs: Phentermine and Topiramate, and, in second place, Lorcaserin and Bupropion/Naltrexone", explains Professor of Pharmacology María Javier Ramírez.

The review also concludes that the pharmacological approach is only one side of the battle against this disease. "If Precision Nutrition were applied, better results would be achieved, since the disease would be treated on all fronts: pharmacological, genetic and it would take into account the peculiarities of each person -whether or not they are intolerant to a food, diabetic, hypertensive-, their eating habits and the subject exercise they do, their tastes and preferences, etc.", add CIBERobn researchers Alfredo Martínez and Fermín Milagro.

"Few genes lead to being obese, but they increase risk"

Although the question Genetics seemed to herald a revolution in the treatment of obesity, researchers from the areas of Pharmacology and Nutrition at the University of Navarra remind us that very few genes inexorably lead to obesity, although they do increase the risk. "What is really serious," warns first author Maite Solas, "is the health problem that is generated due to the number of ailments associated with obesity. Among them, neurodegenerative diseases as serious as Alzheimer's and numerous cardiovascular diseases, responsible for the majority of deaths in developed countries".

In this sense, the experts' review also advocates a better understanding of the factors involved in weight gain, such as appetite control and energy expense , the distribution of macronutrients -proteins, fats and carbohydrates- in the per diem expenses and the use of new bioactive molecules that help correct metabolism problems in people suffering from obesity and similar complications.