Mixed
Anti-obesity medications (AOMs) are significantly underutilized in clinical practice, with only 1.4% of eligible patients receiving prescriptions despite nearly half of the adult population meeting eligibility criteria.
If you are eligible for anti-obesity medications based on your BMI and health conditions, you are not currently receiving them in most cases. This is not necessarily a reflection of your health status but a systemic gap in care. Discussing these options with your provider and understanding insurance coverage is essential, as prescription rates remain extremely low despite high eligibility.
Of these, 69.4% (31.2% of overall cohort) had BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2. AOM prescription was observed in 15,214 (1.4%) of all eligible patients... Although nearly one-half of all patients in a large health care system were AOM-eligible by guidelines and regulatory labeling, only 1% of those who were eligible were prescribed AOMs.
Why this rating
Large-scale cross-sectional analysis of over 2.4 million patients in a major integrated health system provides high statistical power, though it is observational.
Source
Contemporary treatment patterns of overweight and obesity: insights from the Mass General Brigham health care system
John W. Ostrominski et al. · Obesity · 2024
DOI 10.1002/oby.24186
Related findings · Mixed
- Bariatric surgery (VSG and RYGB) is the most effective and sustainable treatment for obesity, producing marked and sustained weight loss that non-surgical interventions cannot match.Strong
- Severely protein-deficient diets (2–3% energy) induce lean body mass loss and metabolic imbalance, whereas adequate protein intake (0.66 g/kg/d minimum) is a prerequisite for maintaining muscle, bone, and physiological function.Strong
- For patients with Class III obesity (BMI >39.9 kg/m2), metabolic bariatric surgery (MBS) is significantly more effective than any currently approved medication, with BilioPancreatic Diversion (BPD) showing the highest estimated weight loss.Strong
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