Obesity News

PHILADELPHIA — None of the top 25 insurers in the United States offer explicit policy coverage for primary or revisional endoscopic bariatric therapies, according to data presented at the ACG Annual Scientific Meeting.

Among patients with obesity undergoing bariatric surgery, the proportion taking a GLP-1 receptor agonist in the year before their procedure rose sharply between 2018 and 2023, researchers reported.

The rate of metabolic bariatric surgery decreased from 2022 to 2023, whereas the use of GLP-1 receptor agonists as anti-obesity medications grew over twofold, a research letter showed.

BOSTON — Addiction to ultraprocessed food may be diagnosed similarly to other substance use disorders, and reducing stigma and tailored treatment are both important to improving cardiometabolic health, a speaker reported.

Expanding access to weight loss medications could save tens of thousands of lives annually, according to an analysis published in PNAS.

In patients with type 2 diabetes, semaglutide was associated with a significantly lower risk for an Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis within 3 years compared with other diabetes medications, according to a study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

BOSTON — In this Healio video exclusive, Virend K. Somers, MD, PhD, discusses his presentation at the Cardiometabolic Health Congress, “Sleep Disorders and Cardiometabolic Health.”

Prescriptions for GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors for patients with type 1 diabetes rose between 2010 and 2023 despite not being approved for that population, according to a research letter published in JAMA.

DENVER — For women with polycystic ovary syndrome and overweight or obesity, neither oral contraceptive pills nor metformin altered the characteristic markers of metabolic syndrome, either alone or in combination, researchers reported.

DENVER — Obesity prevalence is increasing among reproductive-age people and unhealthy weight is associated with infertility in both sexes, yet the impact of weight reduction on fertility outcomes is complex, according to a speaker.