What foods will you ADD to your shopping list and your menu? Make sure you have plenty of condiments, add-ins, extra HMR foods and fruits and vegetables on hand. Prep and plan as much as you can in advance, so you have meals and snacks ready.
At the 2018 annual meeting of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists in Boston, Dr. W. Timothy Garvey spoke on strategies for using weight loss medications. Dr. Garvey discussed 4 general principles:
Why use weight loss medications?
Obesity is a chronic disease that involves interactions among genetic, environmental and behavioral factors. Obesity is treated with medications just like other chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension or hyperlipidemia. The regulation of energy intake is mediated by peripheral signals from fat cells, the gastrointestinal tract and the pancreas that act on hypothalamic pathways and higher cortical centers. Obesity medications act along these pathways to decrease appetite and cravings and increase satiety. The addition of a medication for weight loss produces greater weight loss and weight maintenance compared to lifestyle therapy alone.
When should weight loss medications be prescribed?
Weight loss medications are prescribed for patients with a BMI > 30 kg/m2 or with a BMI > 27 kg/m2 if there is a weight-related comorbidity such as hypertension, diabetes or dyslipidemia. Medications should always be used with an effective diet plan.
What are the therapeutic targets of medication assisted weight loss?
Therapeutic targets for weight loss are the reduction of comorbidities. Improvements in type 2 diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia can be see with a little as 3-5% weight loss. Where other comorbidities such as fatty liver disease and sleep apnea require 10-15% weight loss to see an improvement.
Which medications should be used?
Currently, there are eight medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for weight loss.
*Approved for short term use
†Approved for long term (chronic) use
In selecting the optimal weight loss medication for an individual patient, clinicians should consider differences in efficacy, side effects, cautions, warnings and drug interactions along with the patient’s medical history. These factors are the basis for individualized weight loss therapy.
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What foods will you ADD to your shopping list and your menu? Make sure you have plenty of condiments, add-ins, extra HMR foods and fruits and vegetables on hand. Prep and plan as much as you can in advance, so you have meals and snacks ready.
Worldwide rates of obesity have reached pandemic levels. Excess body fat, especially belly fat or visceral adipose tissue increases the changes for fatty liver disease also known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD.
The average weight loss for patients who undergo bariatric surgery is around 33% of initial body weight compared to an average weight loss of 10% with anti-obesity medications and 3-5% with a low-calorie diet and lifestyle modification.
Weight recidivism occurs because reducing body weight triggers adaptive mechanisms that drive weight regain. Body weight is tightly regulated by hormones from the GI tract, pancreas, and adipose tissue that act primarily in the hypothalamus to regulate foo
Fatty liver or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a disorder in which too much fat builds up in the liver. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) occurs when that extra fat causes inflammation and scarring of the liver.
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