December 5, 2024 — Bragging rights. Yesterday, Lilly claimed them for its obesity medicine, the Zepbound brand of tirzepatide. The company announced topline results from a head-to-head trial of tirzepatide vs semaglutide for weight loss in persons with obesity or overweight and at least one obesity-related complication. It should be no surprise that tirzepatide won this narrowly-defined contest. In […]
November 29, 2024 — “Taxes on sweetened beverages have become a litmus test in public health: if you are concerned about rapidly increasing global rates of obesity, you should favor them.” This truth telling comes from a new commentary in JAMA Pediatrics. So we are happy to acknowledge the radiant sincerity of those who believe in taxing soda. But […]
November 26, 2024 — For the second time this year, we have a meta-analysis of RCTs with GLP-1 medicines that affirms cardiorenal benefits in outcome studies. This latest study appears in Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology. Lead author Sunil Badve described the importance of his analysis: “This is the first study to show a clear benefit of GLP-1 receptor agonists […]
November 14, 2024 — In the New England Journal of Medicine yesterday, detailed results of a three-year study showed that tirzepatide was 99% effective in preventing diabetes in people with prediabetes and obesity. This was a placebo-controlled trial. Every person in the study, whether they received tirzepatide or not, received regular lifestyle counseling. Compared to the control group getting […]
November 12, 2024 — For several years now it has been apparent that success in reducing deaths due to cardiovascular disease has slowed or stopped. This is part of the story of declining U.S. life expectancy that headlines often overlook. New research at the upcoming AHA Scientific Sessions tells us rising obesity might explain much of this trend. In […]
November 2, 2024 — As we travel to San Antonio for ObesityWeek 2024 (OW2024) one of the principal threads we want to explore is the expanding scope of GLP-1 therapy benefits. The narrative is a moving target. We won’t have the abstracts in hand for another day. But news this week makes it clear that we have barely gotten […]
October 31, 2024 — The eternal question about medical and surgical treatment for obesity in young persons is all about long-term outcomes. Will the net effect of highly effective treatment actually be to make their lives better? An impressive new analysis of ten-year outcomes for metabolic surgery in teens offers excellent insight. A Landmark Publication The Teen-LABS (Longitudinal Assessment […]
October 18, 2024 — We are seeing a subtle, but important shift in the way scholars of population health are looking at obesity and the people it affects. At one time, the implicit bias was to discount those who already have the disease. There’s little we can do for them was the thought behind this. Sometimes it was even […]
October 12, 2024 — Amid a great deal of excitement about the value of GLP-1 medicines like semaglutide and tirzepatide for obesity, there is also a buzz of concern about muscle loss. Is it a reason to think twice about these new treatments? Or is it merely a reason for caution? Not Unique to GLP-1s Carla Prado, Stuart Phillips, […]
September 30, 2024 — The abrupt and immediate departure of Sima Sistani as CEO of Weight Watchers prompts us to ask: Is the diet industry dead? Weight Watchers grew from its origins in the early 1960s to become the iconic brand that dominated this field. For decades now, the popular impulse to reject diet culture has been growing. In […]
