Ivy League doctors say obesity is the new normal for Americans, classifying it as a chronic disease that requires ongoing drug intervention.
in 6-part series Physicians from Harvard, Yale, and Rutgers medical schools argued in Medscape’s “Treatment of Obesity: Confronting the New Normal” that obesity does not result from a behavioral problem. One of the doctors, Ania Jastrebov, a professor at Yale School of Medicine, said the traditional understanding of eating less and exercising more is not effective in reversing or preventing obesity.
“Obesity is not a personal choice,” Jastrebov says. “For years, the advice given to patients was that they needed to ‘eat less and move more.’ That doesn’t work.”
Professor David Ludwig of Harvard Medical School rejected the “Western” view that obesity is the result of weakness of character.
“In Western culture, obesity has been thought of as a personality problem. Obesity simply means eating less and moving more. If you can’t do that, it’s a lack of character or discipline. In fact, “Obesity has more to do with biology than behavior,” Ludwig said. “We need to think about nutrition the same way we think about medicine.”
In the latest episode, doctors promoted the drug as a treatment for obesity. They discussed the injectable appetite suppressant semaglutide, a weight loss drug popularized by celebrities under the Ozempic and Wegovy brands, and a similar drug, tirzepatide (Mounjaro).
“I think we’re in an incredibly exciting time,” Jastrebov said. “We previously had tools to treat obese patients. But now we have developed new highly effective and safe drugs that target the pathophysiology of the disease.”
However, doctors said the drug would need to be taken permanently to maintain the weight once lost.
“One of the most common questions I get, whether it’s from colleagues or patients, is, ‘I lost weight on this medication, can I stop taking it?’ . Is it over yet? ” said Jastrebov. “The answer is no. You have to keep taking your medicine.”
Chika Anekwe, an obesity physician at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Weight Center, agreed.
“Once you start the medication, you are expected to continue taking it for a long period of time to lose weight and maintain that loss over time,” Anekwe says.
Doctors denied that personal choices were a factor in obesity, but argued that obesity was caused by poor food choices.
Doctors have classified America as an obesogenic environment due to its prevalence of highly processed and delicious foods, sedentary and stressful lifestyles, and sleep deprivation. Doctors said the shift to remote work and education during the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the obesity climate.
They attribute modern obesity rates to the overhaul of agriculture undertaken by the Nixon administration under then-Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butts, who led the mass industrialization of soybeans and corn, two key ingredients in highly processed foods. associated with reform. Doctors said Butts’ leadership resulted in the massive proliferation of junk food (processed foods made of easily digestible simple sugars).
Ronald Weiss, a professor at Rutgers University, said processed foods hijack the “true hunger drive” developed during evolution, and the more junk food is consumed, the more an individual desires it.
“I think the most dangerous drug on the planet is food. Addictive food is very prevalent and it’s everywhere,” Weiss said.
Doctors blamed highly processed foods for creating a negative feedback loop of peptide hormones, interfering with the flow of insulin and glucagon. Ludwig said these foods cause fat cells to hold on to excess calories, starving the brain and other parts of the body, which causes you to eat more to feel full. Ludwig said that in such cases fasting is useless.
American Medical Association (AMA) recognized In 2013, obesity is recognized as a chronic health condition.Over 40 percent of American adults and over 20 percent of American children get a qualification As obesity.