Dr. Robert Klitzman: Anti-Obesity Drugs - What We Don't Know About Them

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Robert Klitzman discuss the implications of new anti-obesity drugs, initially designed for type 2 diabetes but now used for weight loss. These drugs are expensive and may not be fully covered by insurance. They discuss how the drugs work and explain why they may be more effective for some than others. Dr. Klitzman highlights the socio-economic disparity that contributes to some of the causes of obesity. He emphasizes the need for prevention and policy changes to address the root causes of obesity, including dietary habits and access to healthy food.

Key Takeaways:

• The US spends twice as much per person on health care as any other country in the world, yet our health indices are nowhere near the top. A lot of that is because of the price of drugs.

• Obesity medications are being touted as the end of the obesity pandemic, as a cure-all. However, while they do a lot of good, there are many limitations to the drugs.

• Obesity is often more prevalent in lower socio-economic classes. With the increased use of these obesity drugs, the disparity between the haves and have-nots will continue to grow, potentially leading to additional stigmas being placed on those struggling with obesity.

"I do have concerns that the attention on drugs, if we're going to spend a lot of money on drugs for obesity, my concern is we're not going to spend as much attention on how to prevent obesity in the first place." — Dr. Robert Klitzman

Connect with Dr. Robert Klitzman:

Professional Bio: https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/profile/robert-klitzman-md

Website: https://sps.columbia.edu/person/robert-klitzman-md

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-klitzman/

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Threads: @critically_speaking

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

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