Use of a serotonin re-uptake inhibitor, fluoxetine, in the treatment of obesity.

Health risks associated with obesity are well known and compliance with standard regimens for weight reduction is frequently unsatisfactory. Fluoxetine is a specific inhibitor of serotonin re-uptake with very minimal affinity for serotonergic or other receptors. It causes a decrement in food intake in animals. Placebo or fluoxetine was given for up to 8 weeks to non-depressed, otherwise healthy, obese patients given minimal dietary advice. Patients given fluoxetine lost 4.5 +/- 4.0 kg, significantly more than those receiving placebo, 1.4 +/- 0.1 kg. The weight loss was correlated with the degree of obesity in the fluoxetine-treated patients. Asthenia was the only event reported significantly more frequently by fluoxetine-treated patients (23 percent) than by those treated with placebo (3 percent) (P less than 0.01). Fluoxetine appears to be safe and effective in inducing weight loss over periods of up to 8 weeks.