The United States has the 12th highest obesity rate in the world at 36.2%. (and highest in the western world). Neighboring Canada is 29%
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/obesity-rates-by-country
1 Like
Interesting that the assessments are based on BMIâŠ
BMI is fast, easy and cheap for measuring total populations. Not so accurate for individuals. (but I think there has been another thread on that topic somewhereâŠ)
[quote]Looking at the BMIs of such large groups of people revealed some hard-to-ignore patterns. Certain BMI ranges were associated with greater risks of disease, mortality and other poor outcomes. And so lines were drawn â below this line, youâre âhealthyâ; above it, youâre âat-risk.â
âBut itâs the same with any metric in medicine,â explains Dr. Heinberg. âIs there something magical with hypertension such that 120 over 80 is normal, and 121 over 81 is high blood pressure? No. But when we look at hundreds of thousands of people, there are differences at that line.â [/quote]
6 Likes
Most of the top of the list is Pacific island countries (where there may have been a selection effect for genetic variants associated with increased size during exploration and colonization), followed by Middle East countries. Besides the US (36.2%), the highest BMI countries outside of those areas were Bahamas (31.6%) and New Zealand (30.8%). The lowest BMI rich countries were Japan (4.3%) and Republic of Korea (4.7%).
2 Likes
They have just approved for Wegovy in the UK, but they have made it very difficult to get on the national health service.
It asks for a certain BMI, to have completed a 6 month nutrition programme which has a never ending waiting list to enter.
3 Likes
Too expensive to make it widely available/easily accessible thru the NHS.
US insurance companies are also dropping coverage of this type of drug.
1 Like
No surprising and for exactly the same reason. Itâs hard to imagine that insurers are going to cover the cost to allow millions of people to take this drug solely for weight loss, at least not until less expensive generics are available.
4 Likes
I believe there have been great strides in gastric bypass/sleeve/balloon procedures for obesity, but unless things have changed, most bariatric surgeons required the patient to lose some weight on their own first. Wonder if this is being required by docs before prescribing semaglutide (and if it might at some point affect whether it would be covered in some cases or by some insurance carriers).
1 Like
I have the absolute best appetite suppressant on the market. Not only does it make you not hungry, but it actually burns calorie and you get this almost high feeling for an hour or so after you take it. Itâs called running. Unfortunately, not everyone has a body that can run but for those of you that do, Iâm sure you can agree that itâs amazing. I mean it does for me what Ozempic must do for other people.
2 Likes
My doctor prescribed me Ozempic this spring based on my weight, BP, and my prediabetes. I have struggled with my weight my entire life and for the past two years have not been able to lose no matter what I tried. I did a month of Ozempic with insurance coverage and then my insurance denied it the next month at a cost of over $1,100. I have been on the compounded semaglutide since May and have lost 31 pounds. My BP is normal now as is my A1C . I have had minimal side effects and am making healthier food choices and exercising more. I donât care how long I have to stay on it, but it feels like a miracle to me.
9 Likes
Thatâs great! Perhaps over time with the new habits you wonât even need the Ozempic.
I like to run. I think it does me more hungry. But having made the exercise effort I try to also make better food choices.
2 Likes
Iâm just the opposite; exercise makes me less hungry despite the calorie burn, so I tend to eat smaller dinners after exercising. 
2 Likes
Iâll share some info I got from my daughter. She talked to her Dr about trying it. She feels she has done everything and is continuing to gain. The Dr wasnât sure if it would work as her gain in from the medication. Her insurance which is Kaiser also wants one to try exercise, diet first. All things she does already. They offered her an appointment with a nutritionist which she will take just for knowledge. The Dr also said these are not bridge medications and many gain the weight back when they stop.
She has a phone consult with her psychiatrist to see about a medication change. She said the sad thing is the medication is working great aside from the weight gain. Her internist also said Kaiser likes to try a few other meds first. Topamax which she has tried for her migraines before and it doesnât agree with her. The other is Wellbutrin. I didnât know those were drugs prescribed for weight loss but that info might be useful for others here.
2 Likes
My guess was a not that those are being prescribed for weight loss, but rather that the psychiatrist is suggesting they change from the current mood stabilizers to these as they are less likely to cause weight gain. So she might lose some weight if she titrates down off the current mood stabilizers and up on the others.
1 Like
No she hasnât spoke yet with the psychiatrist. If I understand correctly her internist said they prescribe those for weight loss.
A number of years ago I had two friends who were in some sort of trial that was Topamax for weight loss. They arenât close friends so I donât know what happened long term but I know one did lose quite a bit of weight.
A quick search does show that topiramate (topamax), particularly at higher doses does seem to cause appetite suppression and weight loss, especially if combined with phentermine. (Remember in the past the bad cardiac problems when phentermine was combined with fenfluramine). But watch for possible fogginess/confusion. We used to call it âdopamaxâ because it tended to make patients dopey.
Yes she experienced not being able to find her words and also restless leg when she tried Topamax for migraine prevention. For migraine I think the dose is lower and it did work but she couldnât tolerate it. She has no desire to try it again.
My D had âchronic daily headacheâ in her early 20s. Among many other treatments tried, she took topamax. She lost a lot of weight (and she was at a healthy weight to start) and hated the dopey feeling. And it didnât help the headaches. (Turns out her headaches were not migraines, which we kept telling the doctors, but hemicrania continua. Under control now.)
so - just now catching up and responding to something 7 days ago:
THE HARD THING: Being 15% lighter means that to maintain it I need to eat 15% fewer calories or compensate for it with extra exercise
Iâve often wondered about this. iâve maintained my weight for the last year or so; if i were to lose weight would i be able to maintain my weight with my eating patterns now? sounds like not.
thanks for your thought on that as I have been thinking about this all
2 Likes