Short-term orlistat treatment does not affect mineral balance and bone turnover in obese men

Orlistat is a gastrointestinal lipase inhibitor that is used to reduce diet ary fat absorption and to enhance weight loss in subjects consuming a hypoc aloric diet. To assess whether orlistat has an effect on the metabolism of six minerals, a 21-d, double-blind, randomized, parallel-group, placebo-con trolled mineral balance study was conducted in obese (body mass index > 30 kg/m(2)) men. Subjects consumed a hypocaloric diet with a constant daily mi neral content and received daily oral treatment with orlistat (120 mg three times daily) (n = 14) or placebo (three times daily) (n = 14) for 21 d. Af ter a 14-d equilibration period, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, copp er and zinc balances were assessed for d 15-21. In addition, the effect of diet and orlistat treatment on bone metabolism was estimated from measureme nt of biomarkers of bone formation and bone resorption. Serum and urine ele ctrolytes were also measured at baseline and at the end of treatment. Orlis tat inhibited fat absorption by similar to 33% (P < 0.05). There were no si gnificant differences in mineral apparent absorption, urinary mineral loss or mineral balance between the orlistat and placebo groups. Markers of bone turnover and serum and urine electrolytes did not differ between the orlis tat and placebo groups. Orlistat was well tolerated; adverse events were of mild or moderate intensity, and the majority of these events were unrelate d or remotely related to study treatment. In obese men consuming a hypocalo ric diet, the administration of orlistat had no significant effect on the b alance of six selected minerals. In addition, biomarkers of bone turnover, as well as serum and urine electrolytes, were not affected by orlistat trea tment.