Obesity
According to the World Health Organization, there are as many as 1.6 billion people worldwide considered to be overweight, of which at least 400 million are estimated to be obese. In 1980, approximately 15% of the adult population in the United States was obese. By 2002, the obesity rate had doubled to approximately 30% of the U.S. adult population. In addition, a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey estimated that another 34% of the U.S. adult population was overweight in 2002. We expect that given current trends, many members of this group will become obese in coming years.
The Causes of Obesity
Obesity is a growing national and international epidemic1 and results from an energy imbalance caused by the consumption of more calories than the body is able to burn over an extended period. The cause of this imbalance is complex and is influenced by the convergence of various environmental, behavioral and genetic factors.2
The Consequences of Obesity
Approximately 300,000 deaths per year in the United States are associated with obesity according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Excessive body weight is also associated with various physical complications that are often present and exacerbated by the obese condition. Diabetes, cancer, hypertension, high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, sleep apnea, liver and pulmonary disease, among others, are seen in greater prevalence among the obese than the general population. In addition, excessive weight has an impact on behavioral or psychiatric conditions that often accompany obesity, including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, chronic pain and insomnia.
The Costs of Obesity
Obesity and these related conditions are believed to cause significant added cost to the health care system. In 2000, the Department of Health and Human Services estimated the overall economic costs of obesity in the United States to be $117 billion. Despite the growing obesity rate, increasing public interest in the obesity epidemic and significant medical repercussions and economic costs associated with obesity, there continues to be a significant unmet need for additional pharmacological interventions.
New Developments in Obesity Treatments
The complex pathways within the central nervous system (CNS) and their interaction with other mechanisms involved in the regulation of body weight make obesity a difficult and complicated disease to treat. This helps explain why people with obesity have historically been challenged to initiate and sustain weight loss through diet and exercise alone.
However, there is a growing understanding of how the CNS regulates appetite and metabolism as well as the mechanisms that limit weight loss over time. This understanding is the basis of our drug development strategies.
