Background

With increased prevalence of obesity, a wider range of options and multidisciplinary strategies to treatment have become available. Weight loss medications (WLM) have shown to be effective options for management of weight loss, and data from several studies suggests that WLMs can also be utilized to assist with weight regain post-bariatric surgery. Our purpose is to analyze the temporal trends of public online searches of terms related to weight loss medications to assess public interest.

Methods

FDA approved WLMs (generic+brand names) were used, along with the search term “weight loss medication”. These terms included “Phentermine/Topiramate+ Qsymia”, “Naltrexone-Bupropion+ Contrave”, “Semaglutide+ Wegovy”, “Liraglutide+ Saxenda”, “Orlistat+ Xenical”, “Phentermine+ Adipex-P+ Lomaira”, “Benzphetamine+ Regimex”, “Diethylpropion+ Tenuate”, and “Phendimetrazine+ Bontril”. Google Trends was utilized to obtain and analyze Relative Search Volume (RSV) from 2004–2021 for US- trends.

Results

Analysis showed increase in search term volume for weight loss medication via 2.2-fold (P<0.0001). Increases were seen in Phentermine/Topiramate+Qsymia, Naltrexone-Bupropion+Contrave, and Liraglutide+Saxenda by 7.3-,17.4-, and 32.0-fold (P<0.01,P<0.001, and P<0.00001). Decreases in search term volume were found for Orlistat+Xenical, Phentermine+Adipex-P+Lomaira, Benzphetamine+Regimex, Diethylpropion+Tenuate, and Phendimetrazine+Bontril by 4.0-,1.8-,5.5-,3.1-, and 6-fold (P<0.0001,P<0.0001,P<0.01,P<0.000001, and P<0.0000001).

Conclusions

Search query interest for WLM has increased since 2004, specifically with most long-term usage medications. With climbing obesity prevalence, a variety of treatment options have become available, with a rise in collective public interest and education of weight loss medicine. This data may serve to guide treatment strategies and indicate public and patient interest in pharmacological treatment options, allowing for incorporation of multidisciplinary approaches.