January 25, 2024 — One of the more annoying generalizations in obesity is the assertion that when people lose weight, everyone inevitably regains it all and perhaps even more. When said about metabolic surgery, it’s utterly false. But that doesn’t stop people from saying it – even people who pose as medical experts. More broadly in the medical management […]
January 21, 2024 — Seriously, it is not a problem if people living with obesity value their appearance. Do we really have to say this? Apparently we do. Because all too often we see a subtle bias in discourse about obesity that adds up to disrespecting people who want to look and feel their best. Physician and writer Matthew […]
January 18, 2024 — E.B. White is long gone from this life and Block That Metaphor! is dormant at The New Yorker. But we need them back. The Washington Post has a new and twisted metaphor about obesity treatment, casting Ozempic as something like orthodontia. Kate Cohen writes: “I always thought I’d be thin if I were rich. “I’d […]
January 17, 2024 — Over the past year, as the world has embraced GLP-1 medicines like semaglutide for obesity, we have heard much speculation about dire prospects for the future of metabolic surgery. Stock prices dropped earlier this year for medical device companies with big investments in bariatric surgery when Intuitive Surgical announced they were seeing a slowdown in […]
January 16, 2024 — If you wonder why the Obesity Action Coalition, Obesity Medicine Association, and the Obesity Society all warn against using compounded versions of GLP-1 medicines for obesity, consider the boom and bust story of ACA Pharmacy in Nashville, Tennessee. After semaglutide went into shortage in 2022, it began doing a booming business with a compounded version […]
January 9, 2024 — Unfortunately, we are facing the new year with a great demand for advanced new obesity medicines and an inadequate supply. On the FDA drug shortages website, all strengths of the Wegovy brand, except 2.4 mg, have limited availability. Both Wegovy and Ozempic are “currently in shortage.” This opens the door for compounded semaglutide and a […]
January 6, 2024 — We are hearing a cacophony lately – lots of noise about food noise. Part of what we hear is a celebration. Some people are finding blessed relief from it when they take advanced medicines for obesity like semaglutide or tirzepatide. Others see a threat in the relief that those people are finding. They deny that […]
December 30, 2023 — FDA tells us we have a problem – actually two of them, and they’re connected to a third. First, counterfeit versions of the Ozempic brand of semaglutide injections are finding their way into pharmacies. These fakes present an inherent risk of problems with safety and effectiveness. Second, compounded versions of semaglutide are selling in some […]
December 28, 2023 — This was a year of great progress in obesity, and with that progress came frustrations and angst. So finding the best and worst of 2023 in obesity and health is actually quite an easy and interesting task. Let’s dig right in. #1 Best: Cardiovascular Outcomes Benefit Data for Semaglutide Above all else the landmark findings […]
December 26, 2023 — In the New Yorker, Dhruv Khullar calls 2023 “the year of Ozempic.” Then in Vox, Constance Grady puts it right up there with Barbie, calling this “the year of Ozempic bodies and Barbie Botox.” The New York Times puts it at the very top of five health lessons we learned in 2023. Most notably, Science […]
