What is Orlistat (Xenical)?

Xenical (Orlistat) 120mg is a prescription-only weight loss aid for adult patients with a BMI over 30 or for those with associated risk factors (such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure or high cholesterol) and a BMI above 28. It is currently the only approved weight loss medication in the UK and combined with a healthy lower-calorie, reduced-fat diet and exercise it can help you lose more weight than by dieting alone.

Unlike an appetite suppressant, Orlistat (Xenical) is a medicine used to treat obesity. It works in your digestive system to block about one-third of the fat in the food you eat from being digested.

Orlistat attaches to the enzymes in your digestive system (lipases) and blocks them from breaking down some of the fat you have eaten during your meal. The undigested fat cannot be absorbed and is eliminated by your body.

Orlistat is indicated in the treatment of obesity in conjunction with a low calorie intake diet.

How should I take Orlistat?

The usual dose of Orlistat (Xenical) is one 120 mg capsule taken with each of the three main meals per day. It can be taken immediately before, during a meal or up to one hour after a meal. The capsule should be swallowed with water.

Orlistat (Xenical) should be taken with a well-balanced, calorie controlled diet that is rich in fruit and vegetables and contains an average of 30 % of the calories from fat. Your daily intake of fat, carbohydrate and protein should be distributed over three meals. This means you will usually take one capsule at breakfast time, one capsule at lunch time and one capsule at dinner time. To gain optimal benefit, avoid the intake of food containing fat between meals, such as biscuits, chocolate and savoury snacks.

Orlistat (Xenical) only works in the presence of dietary fat. Therefore, if you miss a main meal or if you have a meal containing no fat, Orlistat does not need to be taken.

It is not recommended you take the medicine for more than 6 months and if you don’t see any results after 3 months, discontinue the treatment.

Taking Orlistat (Xenical) makes it more difficult for your body to absorb certain vitamins so it is important to take multivitamin supplements of vitamins A, D, E, and K once a day at least 2 hours before or after taking Orlistat, such as at bedtime. A multivitamin that incorporates all of these vitamins is Centrum Advance.

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