Acomplia proven to significantly reduce visceral fat

Obesity is traditionally determined by the BMI (body mass index), which does not take into account the type and distribution of fat. There are two types of fat - subcutaneous fat, located directly under the skin and visceral fat, which is distributed and wrapped around the organs in the abdomen.

Excess visceral fat present in patients with abdominal obesity leads to a number of ailments such as lipid disorders, type 2 diabetes and cardio-metabolic disease, all of which are prerequisites for cardiovascular diseases.

"What most people do not know is that abdominal obesity is the main predictor for cardiovascular disease," Say Dr. Wael Al Mahmeed, Vice President of the Emirates Cardiac Society. "To be more specific, fat around the organs, known as visceral or the bad fat, is the main ingredient for future cardiovascular complications. This type of fat can only be measured using a CT scan, but for the sake of efficiency a BMI test or the waist circumference can be taken."

The primary endpoint of the study, conducted on 526 obese patients that suffer from either glucose intolerance, type 2 diabetes, low levels of HDL cholesterol or high blood pressure, was reduction in body weight. Important secondary endpoints included waist circumference, visceral fat area. Acomplia demonstrated significant improvement on all theses endpoints from baseline to six months compared to the placebo.

Acomplia also demonstrated a favorable safety profile when results showed a 7.6%discontinuation rate in the placebo group versus a minor 4.5% in the Acomplia group.