Last month, I published an article on Ozempic as a weight-loss drug. While medications like this have the potential to help our nation fight obesity, they carry a large price tag: upwards of $16,000 per year. With that in mind, I asked readers to weigh in with their thoughts on obesity in America. Here are the results:
My thoughts: This survey generated a massive reader response, indicative of how important this issue is for our nation. Readers largely blamed obesity on the foods we eat, rather than individual decisions, and they approve of drugs like Ozempic being used both for people with diabetes and “morbid obesity.”
At the same time, they felt that a combination of primary care assistance and health coaching/counseling would be sufficient to facilitate the lifestyle improvements needed for sustained health and well-being in people who were overweight, but not obese.
I agree with readers that our nation should approach the problem of obesity and its medical consequences with a multifactorial approach. Improved nutrition, lifestyle medicine, primary care support and GLP 1 medications all need to play a role. As more data become available on the impact of each, clinicians can dial up or dial down each approach to give patients the best odds for a positive response.
Thanks to those who voted! To participate in future surveys, and for access to timely news and opinion on American healthcare, sign up for my free (and ad-free) newsletter Monthly Musings on American Healthcare.
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Dr. Robert Pearl is the former CEO of The Permanente Medical Group, the nation’s largest physician group. He’s a Forbes contributor, bestselling author, Stanford University professor, and host of two healthcare podcasts. Pearl’s newest book, “Uncaring: How the Culture of Medicine Kills Doctors & Patients,” is available now. All profits from the book go to Doctors Without Borders.
