This is an annual event to mark the start of the new year. We see it reflected in media ads highlighting new diet plans, exercise regimens, and weight loss programs. The 'before' and 'after' images depict smiling people enjoying the outdoors in stylish clothing that accentuates their new, slender bodies.
This is powerful marketing for people who are always looking for a tool, sometimes a magic formula, to lose weight and keep it off.
Over 40 percent of Americans Suffering from obesity. 230 or more Living with obesity worsens chronic diseases and increases annual medical costs. $172 billion. The impact of obesity on patient health and the overall economy is enormous.
This past year, some medicines Drugs used to treat diabetes are approved for weight loss in obese patients. The class of drugs is glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) agonists. They not only stimulate insulin secretion and lower blood sugar levels, but also slow the transport of food from the stomach to the small intestine. As a result, you feel full faster and for longer, feeling fuller and having less desire to eat more.
The gut-to-brain pathway is complex, and to better understand the role of GLP-1 agonists in long-term weight management and other health benefits, such as lowering the risk of heart and kidney disease, we are investigating the role of GLP-1 agonists in diabetes. Research is being done with or without it. Even with strokes.
a study A paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that weekly injections of a GLP-1 agonist reduced body weight by 15% over a year, compared to just 2.4% in the placebo group. This equates to a difference of 28 pounds between the two groups in reductions in cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels. These are important results.
However, GLP-1 agonists are currently expensive, require injections, and, like other drugs, have potential side effects. These include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, pancreatitis, gastroparesis, endocrine malignancies, hair loss, sarcopenia (muscle resorption), and depression, among others. There is also growing concern about malnutrition, including adequate protein intake.
Despite their side effects, these drugs have revolutionized the way healthcare providers and patients view obesity treatment.Even popular weight loss programs such as Weight Watchers, which traditionally focused on nutrition, meal planning, and support, are now hug We encourage the use of these drugs for weight management and are actively recruiting clinicians to oversee these programs. celebrity They advertised their weight loss and how these drugs changed their lives, and became hopeful that the general public would have greater access to these expensive drugs. .
In health care, we've seen similar enthusiasm for other past interventions, such as bariatric surgery such as Lap-Bands and drug combinations for weight loss such as fen-phen.Over time, its risks and benefits will be further elucidated, influencing medical decisions and even Remove fen-phen from the market.
Long-term studies of GLP-1 agonist administration would be beneficial, especially in patients without diabetes. Due to decreased gastrointestinal transit, there is already discussion about how to manage patients taking these drugs who require anesthesia or preparation for colonoscopy.
Fortunately, all this attention has led to more conversations about obesity in health care systems, legislatures, and advocacy groups.
In 2023, the Consumer Federation of America: obesity bill of rights And that Obesity Treatment and Reduction Act It was reintroduced in Congress with bipartisan support. These initiatives can enhance public education, reduce stigma and stigma associated with obesity, and, if adopted, expand coverage of obesity screening and treatment.
New interventions have fundamentally improved the care of obese patients. But we must not lose sight of the significant inequalities in our health care system.
Ironically, the people most affected by obesity are of lower socio-economic status and may have never experienced obesity. Access to these drugs. In some areas of the United States, food deserts exist where people cannot access affordable nutrition. Imagine the impact if the industry supported these places by building grocery stores with a portion of the profits made from these medicines.
in word of Benjamin Franklin “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Dr. Saralyn Mark is an endocrinologist, founder of SolaMed Solutions LLC, and COVID-19 director for the American College of Women Physicians. She is a former senior medical and policy advisor for the White House, Department of Health and Human Services, and NASA.
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