anti-obesity medications is also a possible solution. examples of such medications include the orlistat, which was first prescribed in 1998. in 2009, it became an over-the-counter drug after obtaining consent from the european medicines agency. in clinical trials, patients prescribed with orlistat (120 mg) showed better weight loss than those without (8.76 kg vs 5.81 kg) in one year. with effective medications, the obese can better control their weight without the need of undergoing a relatively high-risk surgery.