{"id":115721,"date":"2024-10-18T22:46:04","date_gmt":"2024-10-18T15:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=115721"},"modified":"2024-10-18T22:46:04","modified_gmt":"2024-10-18T15:46:04","slug":"weight-loss-drugs-could-be-key-reason-why-us-obesity-rates-falling-experts-say-us-healthcare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=115721","title":{"rendered":"Weight-loss drugs could be key reason why US obesity rates falling, experts say | US healthcare"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Obesity rates have decreased slightly in the US and while it\u2019s too early to say whether the trend will hold and what\u2019s causing the change, experts believe weight-loss drugs could be playing a role in continuing to lower obesity and reduce related health risks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">These medications \u2013 Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and others \u2013 are called GLP-1 agonists, and they were originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes. But they also show great promise for treating obesity and other health conditions, like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC10584355\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">heart disease<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nejm.org\/doi\/full\/10.1056\/NEJMoa2403347\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">kidney<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S1542356524001605\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">liver<\/a> issues, <a href=\"https:\/\/investor.lilly.com\/news-releases\/news-release-details\/tirzepatide-reduced-sleep-apnea-severity-nearly-two-thirds\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">sleep apnea<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC9705051\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">asthma<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41598-024-57871-9\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Covid complications<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamanetworkopen\/fullarticle\/2820833\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">cancer<\/a>, among others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cEverything that has to do with obesity gets better,\u201d says Rozalina McCoy, an associate professor of medicine at University of Maryland and lead author of a Nature <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s44161-024-00453-9\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">study<\/a> showing the benefits of GLP-1s on cardiovascular health among people with type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">The drugs \u201ctransformed\u201d diabetes care, because they actually improved health outcomes \u2013 a first for type 2 diabetes, she said. They can help prevent heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease, and death. Other conditions, like metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (formerly known as fatty liver disease), also didn\u2019t have effective treatments before.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cUsually I think nothing works, everything\u2019s overplayed,\u201d said Jeremy Faust, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women\u2019s hospital and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. But \u201cI am really, really exuberant about the possibilities here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">The obesity rate for US adults over the age of 20 was 41.9% in 2017\u20132020, but it dropped to 40.3% in 2021\u20132023, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/products\/databriefs\/db508.htm\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">according<\/a> to the National Center for Health Statistics. Severe obesity rose from 9.2% to 9.7% at the same time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">This isn\u2019t the first time the overall rate has dropped. Obesity has climbed fairly steadily in the US over recent decades, but there were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.niddk.nih.gov\/health-information\/health-statistics\/overweight-obesity#trends\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">small drops<\/a> in 2007\u20132008 and 2011\u20132012, for instance, that were followed by increases.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">The rise in severe obesity is concerning, because that\u2019s the group at highest risk of poor health, McCoy said. \u201cI don\u2019t look at that study as being reassuring. I think it\u2019s a sign that we\u2019re still heading in the wrong direction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">But \u201cat least it\u2019s not going up\u201d, said John Morton, an obesity doctor and vice-chair of bariatric surgery at Yale School of Medicine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">It usually takes years of data to determine trends, and peaks are usually only visible long after reaching them, he said. \u201cI think we still have a lot of work to do, but it\u2019s maybe a faint glimmer that it might be plateauing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">It\u2019s \u201ccertainly a possibility\u201d the GLP-1s are responsible for the slight decrease in obesity, Morton said, but he cautioned that there were also other factors at play.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cAnother possibility might be Covid. The two leading risk factors for Covid mortality were age and weight,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I don\u2019t know what to make of it yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">He also pointed out that rates of obesity among young people were unusually high, so \u201cwe have another epidemic coming\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">But he welcomes the interest \u2013 and the scrutiny \u2013 around obesity treatment. \u201cIt\u2019s really been a struggle, getting attention to the issue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<aside data-spacefinder-role=\"supporting\" class=\"dcr-1eyan6r\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 14\" style=\"fill:var(--pullquote-icon);\" class=\"dcr-scql1j\"><path d=\"M5.255 0h4.75c-.572 4.53-1.077 8.972-1.297 13.941H0C.792 9.104 2.44 4.53 5.255 0Zm11.061 0H21c-.506 4.53-1.077 8.972-1.297 13.941h-8.686c.902-4.837 2.485-9.411 5.3-13.941Z\"\/><\/svg><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"dcr-zzndwp\"><p>What surprised me was how soon it worked \u2013 how early the mortality benefit showed up<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<footer><cite>Jeremy Faust, Brigham and Women\u2019s hospital<\/cite><\/footer>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">He is \u201cgrateful\u201d for the GLP-1 drugs because they offer patients more options, and because they have prompted conversations about the health effects of obesity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">He believes they can play a role in improving obesity and other health conditions, particularly if there\u2019s a formulation of the drugs that can be taken orally instead of injected. \u201cIt\u2019s really going to be a population benefit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cWhat surprised me was how soon it worked \u2013 how early the mortality benefit showed up,\u201d said Faust. He compared having high-risk conditions from obesity to being closer to the edge of a cliff. The drugs seem to help pull the patients back from the edge. \u201cSuddenly, someone who was \u2018supposed\u2019 to die in a year doesn\u2019t, and it\u2019s remarkable to me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Faust even hypothesized that the rise in severe obesity could be a reflection of high-risk patients living longer because of better treatments \u2013 when a higher number of people enter this category than those who leave it, the rate would go up, he theorized.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">About one in eight (12%) of American adults <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/health-costs\/poll-finding\/kff-health-tracking-poll-may-2024-the-publics-use-and-views-of-glp-1-drugs\/#:~:text=Overall%2C%2012%25%20of%20adults%20say,Obesity%20Drugs%20for%20Racial%20Disparities?\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">say<\/a> they have ever taken a GLP-1 agonist, with 6% saying they are on one of the medications now. About half of them say it is difficult to afford the drugs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Since 2018, the company offering Ozempic and Wegovy, Novo Nordisk, has made $50bn in sales \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/qz.com\/ozempic-novo-nordisk-wegovy-ceo-senate-testimony-1851656166\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">72%<\/a> of which came from the US.<\/p>\n<figure data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.NewsletterSignupBlockElement\" class=\" dcr-173mewl\"><a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"#EmailSignup-skip-link-21\" class=\"dcr-jzxpee\">skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"newsletter promotion\" class=\"dcr-av5vqf\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1xjndtj\">Get the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning<\/p>\n<p><gu-island name=\"SecureSignup\" priority=\"feature\" deferuntil=\"visible\" props=\"{&quot;newsletterId&quot;:&quot;today-us&quot;,&quot;successDescription&quot;:&quot;Get the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning&quot;}\"\/><span class=\"dcr-1eusqlu\"><strong>Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our <a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/help\/privacy-policy\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"dcr-1rjy2q9\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google <a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"https:\/\/policies.google.com\/privacy\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"dcr-1rjy2q9\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"https:\/\/policies.google.com\/terms\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"dcr-1rjy2q9\">Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/span><\/aside>\n<p id=\"EmailSignup-skip-link-21\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"after newsletter promotion\" role=\"note\" class=\"dcr-jzxpee\">after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">This high cost is one of the reasons why McCoy doesn\u2019t believe GLP-1s will affect rates of obesity in much of the population.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cMedications that are $1,000 a month and are accessible to a select few \u2013 that\u2019s not how we solve public health problems like obesity,\u201d McCoy said. \u201cThey\u2019re effective treatments that we need to have access to and use. But if we\u2019re going to actually tackle the problems of obesity and diabetes and cardiovascular disease, we need to get at the underlying cause of what is causing this in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Yet others are more optimistic about the role GLP-1s can play in reducing obesity across the population.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cWe have turned obesity into some kind of moral sin, instead of what it is, which is a metabolic problem,\u201d Faust said. Paying attention to diet and healthy practices is admirable, he said, but \u201cwe\u2019ve been trying that for a long time. Let\u2019s play the board we have, not the board we wish we had.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Prevention is important, \u201cbut you kind of have to have both\u201d, Morton said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to have both prevention and treatment in order to really combat this, just like we did with heart disease and cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">People who go off the medication regain about <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/35441470\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">two-thirds<\/a> of their weight. But it\u2019s not unusual for people with chronic conditions like asthma, high cholesterol or high blood pressure to take medications for long periods of time, even for the rest of their lives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cWe don\u2019t go into treating other health conditions by saying, \u2018Well, we don\u2019t know if we should treat your high blood pressure because we may have to stop taking this medication in the future,\u2019\u201d McCoy said. \u201cI think these questions come with obesity in part because of the stigma that obesity carries \u2026 It is a serious chronic health condition that we should treat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">The side-effects include nausea and vomiting, and rare side-effects include stomach paralysis, small bowel blockage and pancreatitis. Given these potential risks, the medications should only be given to those who need them, the experts said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cHonestly, it\u2019s going to be patients with obesity as well as diabetes \u2013 those are the patients who have the highest risk of adverse health events and they\u2019re going to benefit the most,\u201d Morton said. For these patients, the benefits often outweigh the potential risks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cThe GLP-1 drugs have actually been around for over 20 years,\u201d Morton said. \u201cIf we were going to see a lot of complications, we probably would have seen them already.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Now that the benefits for related health conditions are becoming clearer through research, it\u2019s possible that insurance will cover more of the treatments \u2013 because insurance plans like Medicare won\u2019t cover obesity treatments, but they can pay for treatments that reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea and other conditions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Researchers are also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/science.adn4128\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">looking into<\/a> the potential for these drugs to treat <a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamanetworkopen\/fullarticle\/2824054\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">substance use disorder<\/a>, Alzheimer\u2019s, Parkinson\u2019s, mental health and other issues. But those connections have not been as well-established as other health benefits.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cWe have to be cautious, because it very well could be that there are a slew of other diseases, ranging from addiction to mental health, that these drugs could be equally amazing for,\u201d said Faust. \u201cBut I think that we don\u2019t want to get ahead of ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2024\/oct\/18\/weight-loss-drugs-ozempic-obesity\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Obesity rates have decreased slightly in the US and while it\u2019s too early to say whether the trend will hold and what\u2019s causing the change, experts believe weight-loss drugs could &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=115721\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=115721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115721\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=115721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=115721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=115721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}