Examining Naltrexone-Bupropion for Obesity & Quality of Life

This essay explores the chronic illness of obesity in adults, focusing on the use of naltrexone-bupropion as a medication for weight management. It discusses the potential side effects of the drug, including mood alterations, suicidal ideations, nausea, and insomnia. While acknowledging the synergistic effects of the drug combination on weight loss, the essay advocates for prioritizing lifestyle interventions such as dietary modifications and physical exercise to manage obesity and reduce the risk of comorbid conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular problems. The author emphasizes the importance of lower food intake and regular exercise as a sustainable approach to weight management and overall health improvement, suggesting that these methods should be implemented before resorting to medication.

Running head: ASSIGNMENT 1
Module 6: Quality of Life as an Outcome
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ASSIGNMENT 1
The chronic illness I have selected for this assignment is obesity among adults.
Obesity refers to the medical condition that involves deposition of excess body fat to an
extent that creates a negative impact on the health of the affected individuals. It is commonly
caused due to a range of factors such as sedentary lifestyle, lack of physical activity, genetic
susceptibility, and large intake of food (Kraschnewskib et al., 2013). The DynaMed database
states that the most common medications that are administered for management of obesity are
orlistat, liraglutide, lorcaserin, and naltrexone-bupropion. Of these, the drug naltrexone-
bupropion will be discussed in the essay.
Side effects
The drug has been recommended not to be used in situations where the obese patients
have history of seizures, or suffer from eating disorders such as, anorexia nervosa and
bulimia nervosa (Billes, Sinnayah & Cowley, 2014). Furthermore, some of the adverse
effects of the drug are attributed to the fact that it has been correlated with mood alterations.
Young people have also reported suicidal ideations on taking these prescribed drugs. Other
side effects include nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, dizziness, headache, flushing, dry mouth
and insomnia (Hollander et al., 2013).
Summary
Although this combination drug is prescribed for weight loss due to the synergistic
effects they create on the weight of obese people, I hold the belief that overweight people
require interventions that focus on dietary modifications and physical exercise, to burn excess
body fat. Lower food intake programs and exercise should be made a permanent part of the
lifestyle of individuals suffering from the chronic illness, thereby managing their weight and
reducing risks of comorbid conditions such as, diabetes and cardiovascular problems (Kratz,
Baars & Guyenet, 2013). Exercise lowers the cholesterol and blood pressure levels, in

2ASSIGNMENT 1
addition to increasing the number of calories that are burnt each day (Fock & Khoo, 2013). In
addition, adherence to diet modification will reduce intake of high calories, sugar-rich and
fat-rich food (Slocum et al., 2013). Thus, prior to medication, these two programs should be
implemented for obesity management.

3ASSIGNMENT 1
References
Billes, S. K., Sinnayah, P., & Cowley, M. A. (2014). Naltrexone/bupropion for obesity: an
investigational combination pharmacotherapy for weight loss. Pharmacological
research, 84, 1-11.
Fock, K. M., & Khoo, J. (2013). Diet and exercise in management of obesity and
overweight. Journal of gastroenterology and hepatology, 28, 59-63.
Hollander, P., Gupta, A. K., Plodkowski, R., Greenway, F., Bays, H., Burns, C., ... & COR-
Diabetes Study Group. (2013). Effects of naltrexone sustained-release/bupropion
sustained release combination therapy on body weight and glycemic parameters in
overweight and obese patients with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes care, DC_130234.
Kraschnewski, J. L., Sciamanna, C. N., Stuckey, H. L., Chuang, C. H., Lehman, E. B.,
Hwang, K. O., ... & Nembhard, H. B. (2013). A silent response to the obesity
epidemic: decline in US physician weight counseling. Medical care, 51(2), 186-192.
Kratz, M., Baars, T., & Guyenet, S. (2013). The relationship between high-fat dairy
consumption and obesity, cardiovascular, and metabolic disease. European journal of
nutrition, 52(1), 1-24.
Slocum, N., Durrant, J. R., Bailey, D., Yoon, L., Jordan, H., Barton, J., ... & Kimbrough, C.
(2013). Responses of brown adipose tissue to diet-induced obesity, exercise, dietary
restriction and ephedrine treatment. Experimental and toxicologic pathology, 65(5),
549-557.