That message adds needed nuance to our understanding of the health effects of the new class of medicines known broadly as GLP-1 drugs.
It also raises a critical question: Could these drugs, which also include Eli Lilly & Co.’s Mounjaro, one day shake the “obesity” label and simply be considered heart medications? Or for that matter, metabolic drugs? As data rolls out, kidney care could also make it on the list, and perhaps down the road, brain health.
Much more research is needed, of course. But such a reframing might open the door to better conversations between patients, doctors and insurers, allowing people to put aside their personal biases and dispassionately consider how GLP-1s should be used and paid for.
Because, of course, we’ll never really understand the full health impact of these drugs if insurers won’t pay for them. Access has opened up a bit-a major win came when Medicare agreed to cover Wegovy for people at risk of cardiovascular events-but doctors tell me there are still too many hoops to jump through.
It’s no secret that obesity sits at the intersection of many chronic conditions, yet the perception persists that GLP-1s are a cheat or simply about a desire to be skinny. The reality is different. A recent KFF poll found that 12% of adults in the US have tried a GLP-1 treatment, a number that rises to 25% among people diagnosed with heart disease.”Diabetes, kidney disease and cardiovascular disease is so intertwined with obesity,” says Diana Thiara, medical director of the Weight Management Program at the University of California of San Francisco. Rather than have siloed approaches of treating each disease, it’s better to acknowledge those connections. She tells her patients to focus less on the scale and more on the fact that even a 10% weight loss gives them a 20% less chance of having a heart attack or stroke.
