The battle against obesity: European experts and pharmacists call for an increased role for pharmacy
Issued:Thursday 15 May 2008, Geneva, Switzerland
Dr Terry Maguire, a community pharmacist in Belfast, UK, past-president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland and a Fellow of both the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain says: “As possibly the biggest public and personal health threat to Europe today, pharmacy is an under-utilised resource that could be tackling obesity, providing ongoing advice and valuable behavioural change support direct to the general public. The obesity ‘epidemic’ is, as yet, unabated and we urgently need to look at broadening our options to help people lose weight. What we are currently doing is not enough.”
New data reveal that the pharmacy profession is increasingly recognising the potential to be involved in weight management, in a bid to stop the rising number of obese and overweight people.1 Results show 96 per cent of pharmacists in Europe believe that, with support and training, they are well placed to help people with their weight loss efforts.1
Supporting the findings, European experts met today at the 16th European Conference on Obesity (ECO) in Geneva, to discuss the future role of pharmacy and argued that ‘many hands make light work’ when it comes to tackling such a huge public health issue.
In Europe, over 50 per cent of adults are overweight (400 million) and 130 million are obese.2 Additionally, new research shows that 70 per cent of those that feel overweight have done so for over three years.3
The recent pharmacy survey suggests that the pharmacy profession is well placed to provide the support needed to help people manage their weight. Of the pharmacists surveyed, 92 per cent think they should give advice on behavioural change, while 90 per cent think that guidance on healthy eating should be provided.1 Additionally, 74 per cent think they should offer advice on weight loss medication.1 Evidence suggests that providing behavioural support to people increases the chance of successful weight loss.4
Dr Terry Maguire says:“There is a lot that can be learnt from other public health areas, like tobacco control for example, where pharmacists have helped support thousands of people to change their behaviour, improving their overall health, in addition to having the expertise to correctly assess a customer’s needs.”
Professor Stephan Rossner MD, Obesity Research Program Director, Huddinge Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden and past President of the International Association for the Study of Obesity (IASO) stated: “Although preventing obesity is the first priority we must realise that, unfortunately, it is not enough to stop the epidemic. We must look at all possible treatment options and recognise that those who are overweight or obese require individual support.”
Data presented for the first time at the conference highlight the success of a new approach to weight loss from the US. Overweight and obese adults who purchase orlistat 60 mg, a clinically-proven medication available without prescription, have access to a tailored, behavioural, online programme that provides a comprehensive package of educational resources and ongoing support. People who enrolled reported high levels of satisfaction with the support provided and an average loss of 4.3 per cent of their original body weight after twelve weeks.5 Furthermore, data from clinical trials with orlistat 60 mg show that people who responded well to treatment at twelve weeks continued to do well when weight loss was measured at six or twelve months.6 This observation suggests that encouraging people in their weight loss effort during the first few weeks of treatment may improve the longer term treatment outcome.
Notes to editors
About the pharmacy survey
The survey was carried out by ICM Research in April 2008 among 350 pharmacists in Europe, with an equal split across Czech Republic, Germany, France, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland and the UK.
About GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.
The consumer healthcare business brings an added dynamic dimension to our company, with well known brands like Panadol, NiQuitin, Sensodyne and Aquafreshamong others but, as with all our products, the driving force behind our consumer healthcare business is science. With four dedicated consumer healthcare R&D centres and consumer healthcare regulatory affairs, the business takes scientific innovation as seriously as marketing excellence and offers leading-edge capability in both. GSK recently launched alli,the first FDA approved OTC product for weight loss in the US, and is committed to tackling the public health burden of obesity globally.
For company information, please visit www.gsk.com.
Media enquiries
Virgo HEALTH:
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T: +44(0) 20 8939 2453/ 2462
E: Ceri.Richards@virgohealthpr.com/ Emily.Brooks@virgohealthpr.com
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References
1. Survey among 350 pharmacists in Europe, across Czech Republic, Germany, France, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland and the UK. ICM Research. 2008.
2. WHO. The challenge of obesity in the WHO European region. Fact sheet Euro/13/05. 2005. Available from: www.euro.who.int/
3. Quantitative obesity market research. BMRB Enlightenment. 2008.
4. Heshka S, Anderson J et al. Weight loss with self-help compared with a structured commercial program. JAMA. 2003; 289: 1792-1798.
5. Daggy B, Schwartz SM et al. Demographics, weight loss and satisfaction results for consumers enrolled in the online behavioural support program for non-prescription 60 mg orlistat. Poster at the 16th European Congress on Obesity (ECO), Geneva, Switzerland. 14-17 May 2008.
6. Bacon TH, Schwartz SM et al. Evaluation of early weight loss measures as predictors for successful treatment with orlistat 60 mg. Poster at the 16th European Congress on Obesity (ECO), Geneva, Switzerland. 14-17 May 2008.
