Obesity Care Continuum (OCC) Commends Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their Continued Proactive Support and Approval of New Obesity Treatments

WASHINGTON, July 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, members of the Obesity Care Continuum (OCC) commended the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their continued proactive approach to ensuring safe obesity treatment options for the more than 93 million Americans affected by the disease.

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"By approving another medication that will help  healthcare professionals treat this disease more effectively, the FDA continues to show us that they are treating obesity seriously.  Since obesity can arise from many causes, no single medication will work for everyone. This is a great step in the right direction, but, we must maintain our focus of developing even more treatments that are safe, effective, and accessible," said Dr. Patrick O'Neil, President of The Obesity Society (TOS).

July 17 marked the second time in less than a month that the FDA approved a new medication, Qsymia (phentermine and topiramate), for the treatment of obesity. In late June, Belviq (lorcaserin HCl) was also approved by the FDA.

"With the approval of these new treatments, we strongly encourage individuals affected by obesity to have the discussion of weight with their healthcare professional. Quite often, individuals affected avoid the conversation of weight due to a lack of treatment options. Thanks to the FDA's recent movement toward increasing options, Americans will now have more tools in the toolbox to address their weight and health," said Joe Nadglowski, Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) President and CEO.

The OCC is pleased by the FDA's continued forward-thinking proactive approach to combating obesity and maintains full confidence in the FDA to continue ensuring the approval and delivery of future safe and effective obesity treatments.

About the Obesity Care Continuum (OCC):
With a combined membership of more than 125,000 healthcare professionals and patient advocates, the Obesity Care Continuum (OCC) is dedicated to promoting access to, and coverage of, the continuum of care surrounding the treatment of overweight and obesity. The OCC also challenges weight bias and stigma oriented policies – whenever and wherever they occur. The OCC is a coalition of the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC), the Obesity Society (TOS), and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

SOURCE The Obesity Society