The American Medical Association first classified obesity as a chronic disease nearly 10 years ago. Now, the rise in popularity of Wegovy and Ozempic has shifted some cultural and medical conversations around weight and weight loss.
Nearly a decade has passed since the American Medical Association first classified obesity as a chronic disease, one that can require medical interventions beyond diet and exercise.
Both drugs are brand names for semaglutide, a medication that can lower blood sugar levels and suppress the appetite. Ozempic is approved to treat Type 2 diabetes in adults, while Wegovy is approved for weight loss in two groups: Those 12 and older with obesity, and adults who are overweight and also have least one weight-related health condition, such as high blood pressure or cholesterol.
"Two-thirds of Americans did not wake up one morning and choose to be overweight or to have obesity. This is not a behavioral choice or behavioral disease. This is a chronic disease — a chronic, treatable disease — and we should treat it like we treat any other disease, with medications and with interventions that target disease mechanisms," said Dr. Ania Jastreboff, an associate professor at the Yale School of Medicine.
"Obesity is a chronic, progressive and misunderstood disease that requires long-term medical management," it said in a statement.
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