Weight loss medications should be used in addition to diet and physical activity, not instead of them

Weight loss medications should be used in addition to diet and physical activity, not instead of them.

Semaglutide and tirzepatide provided weight reduction on average of approximately 15% and 20%, respectively, in clinical studies.

Drug treatment for obesity should be viewed as treatment for a chronic disease, rather than as a dichotomy between medications and lifestyle changes.

NEW YORK, September 9 – RIA Novosti. Weight loss drugs should be used in addition to diet and physical activity, and not instead of them, Ivania Rizo, director of obesity treatment at Boston Medical Center and representative of the American Society for the Study of Obesity, told RIA Novosti.

"These drugs are intended to be used in conjunction with, not in place of, lifestyle interventions. All approved indications for the treatment of obesity state that they should be used in addition to a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity," Rizo said.

She said lifestyle interventions typically result in modest weight loss that can be difficult to maintain, whereas in clinical studies, semaglutide and tirzepatide (drugs used to treat diabetes and weight loss) provided weight reductions of about 15% and 20%, respectively, on average.