As Americans we are stereotyped as the obese or overweight country. Which is not all off when 15 million Americans have life-threatening obesity and 70% of adults over 20 years are affected by some kind of overweight or obesity. Around 25% of the U.S children are also overweight. Being overweight is considered by the body mass index’s (BMI) of 25-19.9 kg/m^2 and obesity as over 30 kg/m^2. Although there is other physiological reasons for being overweight, our country sells big amounts of fast foods for a very small amount of money. Leading our diets to be high in carbohydrates and high in calorie intake. The average meal of a crispy chicken sandwich with bacon, fires, and a coke from McDonalds is around 1,290 calories when according to WebMD women should be consuming about 1,600 to 2,400 calories a day and men should consume form 2,200 to 3,000 calories a day. For our fast past life the average American ends up eating more than 3,000 calories worth of fast food a day. It’s cheap, easy, and not very time consuming which lead the American Medical Association (AMA) to recognize obesity as a disease requiring treatment.
To fight the health concerns pharmacological treatments like glucagon-like-peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RAs) which stands out as the most effective options among all the others. GLP-1 RAs have shown great improvements in glycemic controls and weight loss. Among all the GLP-1 RAs Semaglutide have been shown to be superior in achieving weight loss. There is a verity of mechanisms that show the benifits of Semaglutide. It activates the GLP-1 receptors in the gut and pancreas, slowing gastric emptying and inhibiting glucagon release and showing a slow appetite. It also activated them in the brains hypothalamus which decreases the feeling of hunger and decreasing food cravings. Overall when Semaglutide when taken once-weekly subcutaneously can result in significant weight loss without many risks of serious adverse events and can lead into future studies of weight loss and cardiovascular health / diabetes type 2.
Sources:
Barro, J., Griggs, T., Leonhardt, D., & Miller, C. C. (2014, December 22). What 2,000 calories looks like. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/12/22/upshot/what-2000-calories-looks-like.html
Kommu, S., & Berg, R. L. (2024). Efficacy and safety of once‐weekly subcutaneous semaglutide on weight loss in patients with overweight or obesity without diabetes mellitus—a systematic review and meta‐analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Obesity Reviews, 25(9). https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13792
I do agree that the obesity rates in the U.S. are not ideal and that we live in an age of fast and cheap being the main priority due to inflation and stagnation of pay raises yet I wonder if overuse of Semaglutide in ozempic or wegovy may cause increased rates of esophageal cancers or alimentary cancers because it disturbs the digestive system. Do you think there will be higher rates of these cancers in the future but the long term affects are still unknown?
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