Obesity and Weight Loss Drugs: What You Need to Know
Obesity is a growing problem in America, especially among African Americans. As we outlined in a previous post, nearly half of African Americans are obese, with four out of five Black women being overweight or obese. Weight is a problem often stemming from other financial and social factors, preventing them from engaging in healthy behaviors like regular exercise or eating a well-balanced diet. As a result of these limitations, they are often at a greater risk of developing chronic illnesses.
While events like Obesity Care Week can help raise awareness of disparities and improve support for maintaining a healthy weight, some people may need professional intervention to treat their obesity. In these cases, doctors may prescribe weight loss drugs.
What are weight loss medications?
Weight loss drugs are prescribed medicine given to people living with obesity. This includes those with a body mass index (BMI) over 30 or those with a BMI of 27 and a condition related to their weight, such as type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure. Most weight loss medications work in either two ways: suppressing appetite or reducing your body’s ability to absorb fat from food.
Currently, there are only six drugs approved for medical weight loss by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA): bupropion-naltrexone (brand name: Contrave), semaglutide (brand name: Wegovy), liraglutide (brand name: Saxenda), orlistat (brand names: Alli and Xenical), phentermine-topiramate (brand name: Qysmia), and phentermine.
One medication that has become popular is the GLP-1 semaglutide drug Ozempic, which is only FDA-approved to treat type 2 diabetes. However, some physicians do prescribe it off-label for weight management. It’s best to consult your healthcare provider to determine which chronic weight-management medications are right for you.
The challenges of weight loss drugs
Stemming from a viral social media trend in late 2022, Ozempic shot up in popularity as a weight loss drug — with over 373,000 prescriptions in February alone. Its sales have driven up the overall weight loss drug market growth, surpassing the forecasted 72% growth for 2022. Experts note that digital health companies have only added to this growth by making prescription drugs easier to get, with many advertising quick and easy access.
However, this surge in demand led to drug shortages. Even the similar semaglutide drug Wegovy, approved specifically for weight loss, was undersupplied until March this year when it came back in stock. The lack of supply is especially problematic for those who need the drugs the most, such as Type 2 diabetes and obese patients.
In addition to supply concerns, there are also problems with affordability. A study on racial and ethnic disparities found that Black and Hispanic adults have the highest eligibility rates for semaglutide at 56.6% and 55.0% respectively, compared to the national average of 51.1% of US adults. However, compared to other subgroups, a larger proportion of Black and Hispanic adults had financial barriers, such as being uninsured, lacking a usual source of care, having a low family income, or lacking higher education— hindering their ability to buy helpful weight loss drugs.
This financial issue becomes a safety concern as more people seek alternatives to the aforementioned brand-name medications. While some cheaper compounded drugs can work as intended, these medications are not regulated, monitored, or tested by the FDA. In some cases, unapproved ingredients like semaglutide sodium may be used in these drugs, making the selling of these products illegal and potentially dangerous.
Weight loss medication can be a powerful tool for combatting obesity as it enables patients to overcome biological factors that limit their weight loss. However, not all medications will work for everyone and will carry some risks and side effects. Consult your doctor for the best medical options for weight loss.