Obesity And Malnutrition

Two years and more than a million prescriptions after Wegovy first went on sale, there’s one taboo question for some doctors who prescribe the hit obesity drug: When can patients stop taking it?

The new medicine by Novo Nordisk A/S and others in the same class can melt away pounds that diet and exercise don’t budge. But it doesn’t change the underlying issues that drive metabolism, leaving newly lean people wondering whether they will need to bear the expense and the side effects of the drugs for decades or risk relapse.

Ozempic and similar drugs are transforming the world’s understanding of obesity. It isn’t so much about willpower: It’s about biology. 

The success of the powerful new class of diabetes and weight-loss drugs shows how important chemistry is to determining a person’s weight. The brain is the body’s chief chemist, regulating appetite and making it difficult for many people to shed pounds and keep them off. The brain determines how much fat it wants people to carry, according to years of research bolstered by the new drugs. 

More than 40 percent of Americans are obese, and two-thirds are overweight. It’s time for leaders to address the problem.

The United States military has a big problem -- it has failed to meet its targets for recruiting new soldiers for several years. In the Army’s own words, this is the “most challenging labor market since the inception of the all-volunteer force.” This chilling news comes at the same time America faces growing challenges abroad, including the rising threat of war with China and ongoing security concerns over Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Comedian and podcast host Bill Maher tore into body positivity culture during his latest episode of “Club Random” with The Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan.

Corgan was telling Maher a story of when he took his young son to a train museum and there was a “morbidly obese gentleman” on the train. Corgan said his young son then loudly asked, “why is he so fat?” And the man responded, “cause I like to eat, kid.”

That’s when Maher tore into the body positivity culture and obesity.

More than half of the world’s population will be overweight or obese by 2035 unless governments take decisive action to curb the growing epidemic of excess weight, a report has warned.

Children struggling with obesity should be evaluated and treated early and aggressively, including with medications for kids as young as 12 and surgery for those as young as 13, according to new guidelines released Monday.

The longstanding practice of “watchful waiting,” or delaying treatment to see whether children and teens outgrow or overcome obesity on their own only worsens the problem that affects more than 14.4 million young people in the U.S. Left untreated, obesity can lead to lifelong health problems, including high blood pressure, diabetes and depression.

The Biden administration on Wednesday hosted the a conference on hunger, nutrition and health, the first such conference the White House has hosted in more than 50 years.

Speaking at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, President Biden called for the U.S. to build on the measures passed under his administration meant to improve financial security for families, such as the expanded child tax credit and the Inflation Reduction Act.

More than $8bn has been pledged by private corporations and non-profit groups to help Joe Biden achieve his goal to end hunger and cut diet-related diseases, White House officials announced on Wednesday.

Donors include food industry lobby groups, pharmaceutical companies, the world’s second largest meat packing company, medical associations, a film studio, as well as philanthropic foundations and universities.

The Biden administration is working to end hunger and “diet-related diseases” by hiring more minority nutritionists, according to a White House plan released Monday.

Forty-one percent of U.S. adults, on average over the past five years, from 2017 to 2021, have characterized themselves as overweight, while the slight majority (53%) have said their weight is about right and 5% reported they are underweight.

The percentage overweight is up from 36% in the prior five-year period, from 2012-2016, but similar to the rates between 2002 and 2011.