Newly approved drug heralded as 'game changer' in the growing national obesity crisis (insurance, diet)

[mike1003]

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/newly-...ry?id=78065574

A new weight-loss treatment is being heralded by some health experts as "groundbreaking," and a potential "game changer" in the growing epidemic of obesity.


Semaglutide, an injectable drug made by the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, was approved Friday by the Food and Drug Administration, for patients struggling with chronic obesity.


"We don't use those terms lightly," Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine professor Dr. Robert F. Kushner, an obesity medicine specialist and trial investigator for the drug, told ABC News. "I've been involved in the field for 40 years. The reason we think that way, it results in amount of weight loss of an average of 15% or more, which we have not seen before."


Currently, 42.4% of all adults in the U.S. suffer from obesity, defined as having a body mass index at or above 30, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Interesting and expensive. God only knows what Medicare will cover

[GreggT]

At $1,349.00 a month, I doubt if this will be a "Game Changer". Good Ole' Big Pharma strikes again!

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by GreggT

At $1,349.00 a month, I doubt if this will be a "Game Changer". Good Ole' Big Pharma strikes again!

And with health insurance policies generally tending not to cover weight-loss measures, medication, I'd think the expenses for this new "game changer" drug would be footed by those interested in trying it.

Still no magic bullet.

[Deserterer]

Here's a game changer. Stop categorizing human behavior as disease. Nobody made you eat that 3rd box of donuts.

[Diesel350z]

Color me skeptical

[tamajane]

Originally Posted by Deserterer

Here's a game changer. Stop categorizing human behavior as disease. Nobody made you eat that 3rd box of donuts.

I think in many cases it is disease/disorder. If you eat one cookie from the box and have been with someone who cannot eat just one cookie even though they know it is bad for them and they feel guilty doing it, you know they have a problem they can't control without help.

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by Deserterer

Here's a game changer. Stop categorizing human behavior as disease. Nobody made you eat that 3rd box of donuts.

There are studies that show certain foods / additives actually change the brain chemistry. These are artificial things added to processed foods that didn't exist in the past and are added for the sole purpose of making your body physically dependent on certain foods, or at least think it is dependent on certain foods. It's not quite so simple anymore, which is why we've seen such a big increase in obesity. People haven't changed, but food has.

In other news, insurance isn't going to cover it, as they don't cover most weight loss medications or procedures, which makes absolutely no sense, considering they will spend 4 times as much money to treat conditions caused by obesity.

[aquietpath]

From the article: People suffering from obesity will have to take the drug for life to manage their weight, while ceasing to take it could lead to regaining most of the lost weight, according to one of the trials.

That alone would make me avoid this drug.

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by aquietpath

From the article: People suffering from obesity will have to take the drug for life to manage their weight, while ceasing to take it could lead to regaining most of the lost weight, according to one of the trials.

That alone would make me avoid this drug.

Same here, for sure.

And I don't buy for one minute that taking this drug alone, without including diet and lifestyle changes in a weight loss program, or weight maintenance, would do much towards those goals.

That's just the reality of things.

[JG183]

15% is impressive.
Ins. co.'s should seriously consider covering it, as obesity leads to so many other conditions that they then wouldn't have to pay for.