Obesity and Medicines

Course Overview

Why is it that some medicines can cause people to gain weight whilst others may assist people to lose weight?

Topics

• What disease states are affected by obesity?
• Which antidepressant agents cause the most weight gain?
• When are weight-loss medicines contraindicated?
• How serious are adverse effects of weight-loss medicines?
• Strategies for weight reduction and much, much more...

Need

Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some musculoskeletal conditions and some cancers. As the level of excess weight increases, so too does the risk of developing these conditions. In addition, being overweight can hamper the ability to control or manage chronic disorders.

Medicines can contribute to both weight reduction and weight gain. Greater awareness of medicines that adversely affect a healthy weight – especially those used in prevalent comorbid conditions – will assist nurses to implement weight management strategies and better educate patients to manage the side effects of these medicines.

Purpose

The purpose of this Course is to provide education about the pathogenesis of obesity and how medications can contribute to this condition in order to assist patients to obtain and maintain optimum weight health.

Learning Outcomes

• Correlate obesity with comorbid conditions to improve patient outcomes through the implementation of weight reduction strategies.
• Use your understanding of specific medicines that cause weight gain in order to improve patients’ quality of life by managing the side effects of these medicines.
• Link alternative therapies for weight reduction with education strategies to improve patient outcomes through effective weight management.

Target Audience

Registered nurses and other health professionals who work with patients with diet-related disease or who routinely administer medicines that can cause weight gain.

Disclosure

No conflict of interest exists for anyone in the position to control content for this activity. Wherever possible, generic or non-proprietary names of medications or products have been used.

Educator

Jenny Gowan

Jenny Gowan, a practising pharmacist, is a teaching associate at Monash University, Melbourne and a clinical associate of RMIT University. She is a member of the PSA Branch committee, the Expert Group for Therapeutic Guidelines – Respiratory version 5, an editorial board member of AUS-DI, SHPA "Don’t Rush to Crush", the Guidelines Committee for the Australian Asthma Handbook (AAH) and the writing group for the RACGP ‘Medical Care of older persons in RACF’ (Silver book). Jenny is an accredited consultant pharmacist who conducts her own company, which focuses on medication reviews in the home and aged care facilities, plus education, writing, training and consultation. Jenny works regularly in community pharmacy plus sessions in a GP clinic at a community health centre. She has published over 400 educational articles. Jenny has presented talks at many Australian and international conferences to GPs, nurse practitioners, nurses, podiatrists, pharmacists, and other health professionals. In 2013, she was awarded the Australian Pharmacist of the Year by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and, in 2016, the AACP-MIMs Australian Consultant Pharmacist of the Year. See Educator Profile