Expanding access to weight-loss drugs could save thousands of lives a year, researchers say

Medical Xpress October 18, 2024
Colin Poitras, Yale University

Expanding access to new, highly effective weight-loss medications could prevent more than 40,000 deaths a year in the United States, according to a new study led by researchers at Yale School of Public Health and the University of Florida.

The work is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The findings highlight the critical need to remove existing barriers that are hindering people’s access to effective weight-loss treatments and impeding public health efforts to address the national obesity crisis, the researchers said. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 74% of Americans are considered overweight, with about 43% of those individuals considered obese.

Obesity’s widespread impact on health is well-documented. It exacerbates...

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