In an editorial in , the group of obesity management professionals acknowledge the promise of the new generation of weight-loss drugs to change the management of obesity and allow more people to achieve their health goals. But they also caution that a multidisciplinary approach, which may include psychological, surgical and dietetic support, should be taken to avoid unintended issues and ensure . Glucagon like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) were originally developed as a type-2 diabetes treatment.
The best known GLP-1 RA for , semaglutide, is the in the drugs Wegovy and Ozempic. Wegovy was first licensed specifically for obesity management in the US in 2021 and in the UK in 2024. These drugs have gained widespread media attention as potentially "simple solutions" to the complex, relapsing, chronic condition that is obesity, due to their ability to "turn off" hunger and their success in helping people to shed weight.
Dr. Adrian Brown, a dietitian and lead author of the editorial from UCL Division of Medicine, said, "Given the increasing number of people living with obesity worldwide, we should be open to all available treatments and GLP-1 RAs are certainly a welcome addition to the tools we have available to manage obesity. In terms of their ability to help patients physically lower their weight, they are unmatched by other tools at our disposal apart from bariatric/metabolic surgery.
"But there are some key considerations health care professionals need to be mindful .