THE PREVALENCE OF OBESITY IN AMERICA HAS SKYROCKETED 300% OVER LESS THAN 30 YEARS AND THIS TREND DOES NOT SEEM TO BE SLOWING. WE DIDN’T ALWAYS HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT OUR WEIGHT BUT THIS IS NO LONGER OUR REALITY AS THERE IS AN INCREASED AVAILABILITY OF CHEAP AND CONVENIENT HIGHLY PROCESSED FOODS AND INCREASED EXERTION IS NO LONGER REQUIRED TO SURVIVE. A HEALTHY WEIGHT CAN NO LONGER BE LEFT TO OUR BIOLOGY BUT REQUIRES A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO EAT LESS AND TO BE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE. SO, BLAME HUMAN INGENUITY AND RESILIENCE FOR OBESITY, BUT WE HAVE EFFECTIVELY USED THESE SAME TRAITS TO BEGIN TO WORK OUR WAY OUT OF THIS QUAGMIRE.
TOOLS TO COMBAT OBESITY HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED AND MORE ARE ON THERE WAY. FROM BEHAVIORAL AND MINDFULNESS THERAPIES TO ADDRESS OUR AMBIVALENCE TOWARDS FOOD AND EXERCISE TO MEDICATIONS THAT SUPPRESS OUR APPETITE AND MAKE US FEEL LESS HUNGRY. AND LET US NOT FORGET ABOUT THE NUCLEAR BOMB OF WEIGHT LOSS – BARIATRIC SURGERY. THERE IS NO TOOL OR WEAPON STRONGER THAN THIS ONE WHEN IT COMES TO HELPING A PERSON ACHIEVE AND MAINTAIN A HEALTHIER WEIGHT.
THE FOUNDATION OF WEIGHT LOSS REMAINS PERMANENT BEHAVIOR CHANGE SURROUNDING WHAT YOU EAT AND WHAT YOU DO. PRESCRIPTION WEIGHT LOSS MEDICATION OR WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY WORK TO AUGMENT WEIGHT LOSS. WHEN IT COMES TO RECENT INNOVATION IN WEIGHT LOSS IT CAN BE ARGUED THAT MEDICATIONS HAVE BEEN THE MOST IMPORTANT. THE OLDEST PRESCRIPTION WEIGHT LOSS MEDICATION IS PHENTERMINE, AN APPETITE SUPPRESSANT, WHICH WAS APPROVED IN 1959. THE MOST RECENTLY APPROVED IS SEMAGLUTIDE, WHICH WAS APPROVED FOR WEIGHT LOSS IN 2021. SEMAGLUTIDE MARKED A NEW BEGINNING IN WEIGHT LOSS TREATMENT AND THE WIDESPREAD IDEA THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO REACH A HEALTHIER WEIGHT IF YOU ARE OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE. THE POPULARITY OF THIS MEDICATION HAS LED TO SIGNIFICANT SHORTAGES WHICH HAS SPARKED THE PRODUCTION OF COMPOUNDED OR CUSTOM VERSIONS OF SEMAGLUTIDE. COMPOUNDED MEDICATIONS ARE NOT NEW AND ARE USED BY DOCTORS’ AND VETERINARY OFFICES, AS WELL AS, HOSPITALS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
SEMAGLUTIDE WORKS BY TRIGGERING A SENSE OF FULLNESS AND SLOWS THE RELEASE OF FOOD FROM THE STOMACH. WHEN COMBINED WITH HEALTHY EATING AND EXERCISE, ONCE WEEKLY INJECTIONS OF SEMAGLUTIDE CAUSES WEIGHT LOSS. WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS LIKE SEMAGLUTIDE MAY BE APPROPRIATE FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH A BODY MASS INDEX OF 27 OR GREATER WITH AN OBESITY-RELATED HEALTH ISSUE OR A BMI OF 30 OR GREATER WITHOUT ONE. COMMERCIAL SEMAGLUTIDE IS EXPENSIVE, IN SHORT SUPPLY, AND IS OFTEN NOT COVERED BY HEALTH INSURANCE. THIS IS WHY COMPOUNDED SEMAGLUTIDE HAS BECOME A POPULAR ALTERNATIVE.
DESPITE BEING A TRANSFORMATIONAL WEIGHT LOSS THERAPY, SEMAGLUTIDE IS LIKELY JUST THE BEGINNING OF A NEW WAVE OF MEDICATIONS THAT TARGET THE RECEPTORS THAT AFFECT HUNGER AND SATIETY. A LITTLE BROTHER TIRZEPATIDE HAS BEEN AROUND FOR A FEW YEARS AS A DIABETES TREATMENT AND IS EXPECTED TO BE APPROVED FOR WEIGHT LOSS IN THE NEAR FUTURE. THIS MEDICINE DOESN’T JUST ACT UPON GLP-1 RECEPTORS, BUT ALSO GIP (GASTRIC INHIBITORY POLYPEPTIDE) RECEPTORS THAT FURTHER TRIGGERS THE SENSE OF FULLNESS AND MAY INCREASE THE ACTIVITY OF FAT BURNING ENZYMES. AND GUESS WHAT? THERE ARE EVEN MORE POTENT WEIGHT LOSS MEDICATIONS THAT TARGET EVEN MORE HORMONE RECEPTORS THAT ARE BEING INVESTIGATED.
