Meds spur big gains for weight loss
Leading diet programs add drugs to plans
NEW YORK — Ever since college, Brad Jobling struggled with his weight, fluctuating between a low of 155 pounds when he was in his 30s to as high as 220. He spent a decade tracking calories on Weightwatchers, but the pounds he dropped always crept back onto his 5-foot-5inch frame.
A little over a year ago, the 58-yearold Manhattan resident went on a new weight loss drug called Wegovy. He’s lost 30 pounds, and has started eating healthier food and exercising — the habits behind many commercial diet plans and decades of conventional wisdom on sustainable weight loss.
Yet Jobling’s experience also has altered his perspective on dieting. He now sees obesity as a disease that requires medical intervention, not just behavioral changes.
“I don’t see how you can maintain (the weight) without medication,” Jobling said. “Obviously, it’s all about self-control. But I think it’s less of a struggle to really maintain healthy eating when you got that assistance.”
A demand too big to ignore
At least 3 million prescriptions for the class of medications known as GLP-1 agonists were issued each month in the U.S. during the 12 months that ended in March, according to data from health technology company IQVIA. They include semaglutide, the drug in Ozempic and Wegovy, and tirzepatide, the drug in Mounjaro and Zepbound. Morgan Stanley research analysts have estimated that 24 million people, or 7 percent of the U.S. population, will be using GLPT-1 drugs by 2035.
The world’s leading diet programs have taken note of such statistics and incorporated the popular drugs into their existing subscription plans.
Weightwatchers, which was founded in 1963, last year acquired telehealth provider Sequence, enabling members to get prescriptions for weight loss drugs. Weightwatchers is sticking with its focus on behavior change as the cornerstone of weight reduction but launched virtual clinics that provide customized exercise and nutrition plans, as well as prescription care, for individuals who want to lose 20 percent of their body weight on average.
Promising results and a wealth of unknowns
Research has shown that about a third of people lose 5 percent or more of their body weight with diet and exercise alone, according to Dr. Louis Aronne, director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Center at Weill Cornell Medical school. In comparison, the medicine in the diabetes drug Mounjaro helped people with obesity or who are overweight lose at least a quarter of their weight when combined with restricted calories and exercise, a new study showed.
But some experts worry about businesses marketing the drugs or serving as fitness coaches for patients on the medications. Dr. Cian Wade, a health care consultant for the global strategy and management firm Kearney, said he’s concerned about a proliferation of clinics that don’t have as much experience with obesity and related health conditions.
Since GLP-1 medications are so new, it’s also unclear how many patients will stick with their drug regimens, which produce intolerable side effects for some people. Another reason patients may drop the drugs is cost. A month’s supply of Wegovy costs $1,300, and Zepbound is priced at $1,000.