Obesity care needs greater revolution: Report

The development of new weight loss medicines by pharma companies Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have been making great progress but obesity care needs a much greater revolution according to a report on Thursday Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have been dominating the obesity drug market in the past year with the approval of their glucagonlike peptide1 receptor GLP1R agonists Wegovy and ZepboundAlthough medicines with other mechanisms of actions are available on the market GLP1R agonists seem to have a greater impact on weight loss and the patientrsquos life The report by GlobalData a data and analytics company showed that diagnostic and management tools for obesity need to be updated and patients are not receiving the appropriate support from health authorities and insurance companiesObesity was previously considered a lifestyle choice to be corrected with diet and exercise In 2013 the American Medical Association AMA voted to recognise obesity as a chronic metabolic disease needing treatment and prevention efforts but no implementations have been made for medical practice said Costanza Alciati Pharma Analyst at GlobalData in a statementThere isnt a specific medical figure specialised in obesity yet most doctors still donrsquot recognise obesity as a true disease and in most countries a stronger network of obesity centers is missing to ensure patients are receiving the best possible care Alciati added Another issue in obesity management is the lack of accurate diagnostic methods as the body mass index BMI is not considered to be accurate in many cases according to a highprescribers survey conducted by GlobalData in December 2023The survey included 151 prescribers from the US Germany France Italy Spain the UK Japan The BMI is calculated considering only the patients height and weight and it does not take into consideration the patients body composition Patients with a healthyrange BMI might have a very high percentage of fat tissue and in that case they would be unhealthier than a bodybuilder for example who has a higher BMI but whose body composition is mostly lean muscle massThere are methods used to calculate body composition for instance bioelectrical impedance analysis BIA and DEXA scanning and some physicians tend to use them in combination with BMI but according to GlobalDatarsquos highprescribers survey there is a need for more accurate and unified diagnostic criteria and methods for diagnosing obesity Alciati saidThe report also raised concerns regarding the need for reimbursement strategies for obesity patients In the US the national insurance companies Medicaid and Medicare cover some obesity procedures and treatments but only in some states In Europe the situation is very heterogenous in the UK the National Health Service NHS is required to cover pharmacotherapy for obesity patients while the German legislature does not differentiate obesity treatment from the recreational pursuit of weight loss for vanity purposes and consequently obesity medications are not covered by the national insuranceThis is a great limitation for obesity patients especially if we think about the price of GLP1R agonist treatment Physicians and public awareness of obesity as a chronic metabolic disease is still an unmet need in the healthcare sector Alciati said Consequently a lot of progress still needs to be made to ensure more efficient diagnosis prevention and treatment of obesity including the implementation of wider coverage by national insurance companies on obesity medications and procedures Obesity is frequently a socioeconomic issue especially in the US and the disparity in treatment access as seen with GLP1R agonists only confirms that Alciati addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever