America, and Southeast Asia/Pacific.7

www.theannals.com In 1998, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute(NHLBI) estimated that 97 million adults in the US were overweight or obese.1 Despite widespread knowledge and recognition that obesity results in increased mortality and morbidity from dyslipidemia; coronary heart disease; type 2 diabetes; hypertension; stroke; gallbladder disease; os-teoarthritis; sleep apnea and respiratory difficulties; and en-dometrial, breast, prostate, and colon cancers, it continues to be a major public health problem.1,2 Effective methods for weight reduction and maintenance are necessary to im-prove morbidity and mortality outcomes associated with obesity. Orlistat is a novel antiobesity agent that inhibits dietary fat absorption. It is a potent and slowly reversible inhibitor of gastric, pancreatic, and pancreatic carboxylester lipase.3,4 In April 1999, orlistat received Food and Drug Adminis-tration (FDA) approval for obesity management, including weight loss and weight maintenance when used in con-junction with a reduced-calorie diet.5 In addition, it was ap-proved for use in Canada in June 19996 and has been ap-proved for use in more than 15 countries in Europe, Sout