OBESITY will become a disease of the past thanks to new weight loss medications helping people who struggle most, according to the HSE’s national clinical lead for obesity.
At the Irish Medical Organisation’s annual general meeting in Killarney, Prof Donal O’Shea said ‘eat less, move more’ should not be the treatment plan for people already obese. He compared the future of obesity to serious health conditions that were common when he was a medical student, that are now rare.
“‘Eat less, move more’ is not the treatment for obesity. Get over it,” he said. “Stop thinking it.”
The notion obesity will become a disease of the past is a spark of hope in a sea of negativity that surrounds a modern culture swimming in unhealthy food and sedentary living.
People who have struggled all their adult lives are finally being offered a real opportunity to treat a life-altering disease, with medicines such as semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) being shown in the scientific evidence to facilitate an average body weight loss of 10% to 20%.
These drugs are a game-changer for people living with obesity who can afford them. But they do not address the root cause of the health crisis caused by a toxic food environment.
Their high price means those who are most vulnerable to unhealthy diets and consequent obesity are least likely to be able to access them, stretching the health gap between the haves and have-nots even further.
Excess body weight increases the risk of a range of chronic disease conditions including diabetes, heart disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnoea and many types of cancer as well as a shortened life expectancy and higher rates of disability. With 60% of the Irish adult population considered overweight, many doctors see the new drugs as the key to resolving a........