Currently, the 3 major groups of drugs used to manage obesity are as follows:

• Centrally acting medications that impair dietary intake;
• Medications that act peripherally to impair dietary absorption;
• Medications that increase energy expenditure.

Setmelanotide is the first drug approved for weight management in patients with rare genetic conditions (proopiomelanocortin [POMC], proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1 [PCSK1], leptin receptor [LEPR] deficiencies).

Two glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists (liraglutide, semaglutide) have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for chronic weight management.