New obesity medications are not a "miracle cure"; lifestyle changes are also essential for weight loss.

News Topical, Digital Desk : Obesity has emerged as one of the greatest challenges of the twenty-first century. It is a chronic disease that causes numerous physical, mental, and social complications.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the global prevalence of obesity doubled between 1990 and 2022 and now affects more than one billion people worldwide, including 880 million adults and 160 million children. 

Newly developed drugs—glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) analogs—bring new hope to physicians, but experts say relying on these drugs alone cannot control obesity. According to the WHO, overweight and obesity are abnormal or excessive accumulation of fat in the body, which is dangerous to health.

A body mass index (BMI) greater than 25 is considered overweight, and greater than 30 is considered obese. Lifestyle modifications, a balanced diet, physical activity, psychological support, and prevention of complications have been the mainstays of obesity treatment. Bariatric surgery is also an option in severe cases

These obesity medicines are effective 

Older obesity medications such as dexfenfluramine (Isomeride) and benfluorex (Mediator) were removed from the market due to serious side effects on the heart and lungs. Doctors now have a new class of medications, GLP-1 analogs, which help control blood sugar by increasing insulin secretion, reducing appetite, and slowing stomach emptying.

These include liraglutide (brand names Saxenda, Victoza), semaglutide (Wegovy, Ozempic), and tirzepatide (Monzaro). These once-weekly injections are already used to treat type 2 diabetes. Several large clinical trials have found that when these drugs are used in conjunction with a controlled diet and physical activity, they result in significant weight loss and improvements in cardiovascular and metabolic parameters.

Several chemicals are known to cause obesity. 

Research clearly shows that obesity isn't simply the result of an imbalance between calorie intake and expenditure. It also has genetic, hormonal, pharmacological, psychological, social, and environmental factors. Several environmental chemicals have been identified as obesogenic, which can disrupt hormonal balance, affect the gut microbiome, and cause changes at the gene level. These effects often manifest years later or in subsequent generations.

These medicines cannot completely 'cure' obesity. 

According to studies, GLP-1 analogs cannot 'cure' obesity; they only promote weight loss. For example, in the STEP3 study, participants taking semaglutide lost an average of 15 percent of their weight over 68 weeks, compared to only five percent in the placebo group.

Although this improvement is significant, patients still remain in the obese category. Furthermore, long-term treatment and side effects (such as muscle loss or weight gain) are concerns. Experts say that GLP-1 drugs are only used after the disease has developed, meaning they are a curative approach, not a preventative one. 

Read More: New obesity medications are not a "miracle cure"; lifestyle changes are also essential for weight loss.