After a long period of failure in development, two new medications 
(phentermine/topiramate ER - Qsymia™ and lorcaserin - Belviq®) have been 
approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for long-term weight management 
in persons with obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m(2)) or in overweight persons (BMI ≥ 27 
kg/m(2)) with comorbidities. Another medication, bupropion/naltrexone, is 
undertaking a cardiovascular outcomes trial and an analysis in 2014 will 
determine its approval and release. The most widely prescribed drug for obesity, 
phentermine, used since 1959 for short-term weight management, has been released 
in a new formulation. This paper reviews these new medications, and other 
important events in the landscape for management of obesity, with an eye to the 
interests of physicians who manage hypertension. All the new drugs under 
discussion are re-fittings of old agents or fresh approaches to old targets; 
thus, what is old is new again in the pharmacotherapy of obesity.