In today’s society, the topic of weight remains a hot one, but with a slight change in perception. While the past focus when discussing weight loss has been primarily on looking a certain way, especially for those in the limelight, more recent approaches have been combating excess weight or obesity as a health problem.
From this growing need to find solutions for healthy weight loss, prescription weight loss medications have emerged as a tool that has been gaining more interest even among celebrities.
Let’s take a look at how weight loss medications are influencing obesity treatment:
Increased Awareness And Acceptance
In the past, obesity was something that not a lot of people knew how to talk about or understand. There was a time when weight was a taboo topic, and words like fat and chubby were rarely used without a negative connotation. Weight loss was something one undertook in secret. And ultimately, obesity was a term confined to a doctor’s office.
The rise of new weight loss medications, along with the influence of celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg speaking about medication use, has led to more openness about discussing weight and accepting medical help to lose weight. With the conversation being normalized, more people can find the encouragement to seek help in treating obesity.
Improved Efficacy And Safety
Medical weight loss has had a mixed history of success. Some medications have resulted in moderate weight loss, but some have also ended up in weight regain. Some medications have been withdrawn due to side effects.
However, the newer prescription weight loss medication options available, called GLP-1 agonists, have been found to help achieve weight loss with fewer side effects than the older medications. Studies have shown that these medications a long with a diet and exercise program can result in losing up to 15% of body weight.
A More Tailored Intervention
The various types of medications used for weight loss, in the past and at present, work in different ways. This means that, depending on a person’s needs, a different medication can be specifically used to lose weight. The medicine orlistat has been used for those who need to lose weight and achieve lower cholesterol levels because of less fat absorption.
Those who need appetite suppression may benefit from the likes of phentermine or buproprion/naltrexone combination. The newer weight loss medications, which were traditionally used for diabetes, are best for those who also need to control their blood sugar though may also be helpful for those without diabetes.
Better Health Outcomes
Weight loss can lower risks for many health problems like high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart disease. More often, these same diseases can also make it hard to lose weight, so having less risk for these conditions also results in continued weight loss.
The newer weight loss medications have also been shown to lower the risk of heart disease not only in those with diabetes, but even in people who do not have diabetes. Doctors have touted these findings as “a major breakthrough” and “a call to action” in helping people have lower risk for disease.
Comprehensive Long-Term Management
With the new weight loss medications, obesity can be seen as a complex disease that it is and can be managed by using many different tools.
The new medications need to be accompanied by a healthy diet plan and exercise program, so lifestyle changes are promoted from the get-go. In some people, the medications may also help boost their weight loss to help them stick to healthy lifestyle choices.
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