Obesity and Ozempic

 Obesity is increasing in prevalence worldwide. It isn’t only a problem in rich and developed countries but also in poorer and lesser developed countries. For our Current Events program here at MonteCedro, I prepared a presentation on obesity and the newest approach to it – drugs like Ozempic that reduce appetite and increase satiety. Their original use was as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes but the ancillary finding of weight loss during their use has promoted an awful lot of hype. Below the line is a list of references that I used in preparing the talk. I hope to provoke commentary about not only the health effects that surround obesity and these newer medications but also to look at obesity through a comprehensive biopsychosocial lens. Obesity has been labeled a disease by the World Health Organization and the American Medical Association but I wonder if it truly is a disease. Hope the links spur some reading and thought.

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Another Ozempic side effect? Facing the holidays with no appetite ⇒ a downside of losing your appetite

Semaglutide for the treatment of obesity ⇒ Semaglutide for the treatment of obesity

The Discovery and Development of Liraglutide and Semaglutide ⇒ The discovery and development of liraglutide and semaglutide [needs closer read]

Glucagon-like peptide-1 - Wikiwand ⇒ Wikipedia

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor - Wikiwand ⇒ Wikipedia

We Know Where New Weight Loss Drugs Came From, but Not Why They Work ⇒ NYT from AUG 2023 by Gina Kolata (excellent)

Her work paved the way for blockbuster obesity drugs. Now, she’s fighting for recognition | Science ⇒ Science, Svetlana Mojsov

The Ozempic revolution is rooted in the work of Svetlana Mojsov, yet she's been edged out of the story ⇒ STAT, MGH, Joel Habener (paywall)

Behold the Ozempic effect on business ⇒ Financial Times, Ozempic impact on business (good one)

4 Foods to Avoid While on Ozempic or Wegovy ⇒ foods to avoid on Ozempic

Will Ozempic lawsuits be the next big thing in mass litigation? | Reuters ⇒ lawsuits!

The Other Ozempic Revolution - The Atlantic ⇒ Ozempic and relationships (excellent)

Ozempic: Man arrested in 'skinny jab' ingredient raids ⇒ BBC, black market Ozempic (UK)

Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Obesity without Diabetes | NEJM ⇒ NEJM, Ozempic reduced CV disease cf. controls

Sales soar at Danish firm behind weight-loss drug semaglutide | Pharmaceuticals industry | The Guardian ⇒ The Guardian, sales of semaglutide soar (size of company)

Ozempic Statistics And Trends in 2023 ⇒ lots of good charts (used in slide deck)

Risk of Gastrointestinal Adverse Events Associated With Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists for Weight Loss | Gastroenterology | JAMA ⇒ JAMA, adverse GI events

Triple–Hormone-Receptor Agonist Retatrutide for Obesity — A Phase 2 Trial | NEJM ⇒ NEJM, retatrutide (experimental)

The high price of Ozempic is pushing many to unregulated, copycat drugs for weight loss ⇒ NBC News, unregulated copycats

FDA Approves New Medication for Chronic Weight Management ⇒ FDA approves terzepatide (Zepbound) for weight loss

Beyond Semaglutide, a Coming Pipeline of New Antiobesity Meds ⇒ Medscape, coming pipeline of antiobesity drugs (can make a list for a slide)

Acute Kidney Injury Associated With Semaglutide - PMC ⇒ kidney AE case report

How Ozempic could change the economy as we know it ⇒ potential semaglutide effects on the economy (needs a slide!)

A Call for New Research in the Area of Obesity | Congressional Budget Office ⇒ obesity,healthcare costs, semaglutide

***Obesity Costs Evident at the State Level | Brookings ⇒ cost of obesity with maps, Brookings Institute

How Obesity Became a Disease - The Atlantic ⇒ The Atlantic from 2015, how obesity became a disease

Can you be healthy and have obesity? Not really, says major study ⇒ no such thing as a healthy obese

Body Weight, Clash of Ideologies ⇒ The Atlantic, who is responsible for obesity

Why It Was Easier to Be Skinny in the 1980s - The Atlantic ⇒ The Atlantic, more than just personal choices? {several good links to other reasons we are more obese now}

Opinion | Three big questions about obesity drugs - The Washington Post ⇒ WaPo, Leana Wen {has a graph that should be a slide}

Will the Ozempic Era Change How We Think About Being Fat and Being Thin? ⇒ The New Yorker, will Ozempic change change our thinking? (printed copy on my desk)

How weight loss drugs like Ozempic could radically reshape the food business ⇒Axios, could Ozempic reshape the food industry?

List of diets - Wikiwand ⇒ Wiki on diets

Opinion | How to make powerful new obesity drugs available to all ⇒ WaPo, cost of GLP-1 agonists

Opinion | Are obesity drugs worth it? - The Washington Post ⇒ WaPo, Leana Wen, are they worth the price?

Opinion | Open question for obesity drugs: Will they improve people’s health? - The Washington Post ⇒ WaPo, will health of the country improve?

Will new weight-loss drugs put diet charlatans out of business? I hope so. - The Washington Post ⇒ WaPo, goodbye to food charlatans?

Weight-loss drugs could spell the end of food as pleasure - The Washington Post ⇒ WaPo, will GLP-1 agonists kill the fun of eating?

The Future of Obesity Drugs Just Got Way More Real ⇒ GLP-1 agonists, The Atlantic

Goodbye, Ozempic ⇒ Goodbye, Ozempic? More links and a slide?

The Origins of the Obesity Epidemic in the USA–Lessons for Today - PMC. ⇒ origins of the obesity epidemic

People on Drugs Like Ozempic Say Their 'Food Noise' Has Disappeared ⇒ NYT, disappearance of “food noise”

Scientists hope weight-loss drugs could treat addiction and dementia. ⇒ GLP-1 agonists in addiction and dementia?? (good links)

Does Ozempic Stop Working Over Time? Why Weight Loss Can Plateau ⇒ NYT, your weight will plateau