Cardiovascular side effects of antiobesity drugs: a yellow flag in the race to safe pharmacotherapy for obesity.

The global surge in obesity with its attendant increase in diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease is provoking alarm. Fortunately, the surge in obesity has been paralleled by a revolution in understanding the biological regulation of appetite, metabolism, and adiposity.1,2 Mushrooming discoveries are identifying new pathways regulating appetite and metabolism. These pathways are potential new therapeutic targets, but we still lack safe effective pharmacotherapy for obesity. Consequently, the effort to develop safe, effective pharmacotherapy goes on, fueled by the discovery of new biological mechanisms and new therapeutic targets regulating appetite and metabolism.