Key Points
Powerful weight-loss medicines like Novo Nordisk's Wegovy leapt into public view in 2023, from social media to doctors' offices and cocktail parties, offering a new way to address record obesity rates...
The new drugs are known as GLP-1 agonists, which mimic the activity of a hormone that slows digestion and helps people feel full for longer..
When drugs like Wegovy work, they can be life-changing for people whose weight increases their health risks, from diabetes to heart disease and kidney disease..
Dr Lauren Eberly, an assistant professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine, found that use of GLP-1 drugs for diabetes was lower in Black, Asian and Hispanic patients using private health insurance than their white counterparts..
"We're really worried about the inequities that this will perpetuate as a direct result of inaccessibility of these medicines, especially for more marginalized groups," Eberly said.. Dr Lauren Oshman, an associate professor in the University of Michigan Department of Family Medicine, expects many patients will find themselves unable to afford the new weight-loss drugs in 2024..
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