“Access to drugs for the treatment of obesity is unfortunate in this country,” said Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, a specialist in obesity medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
But even if a patient’s insurer covers weight loss medications, most doctors do not suggest medications and most patients do not ask for them because they do not realize that there are good options. Dr. Scott Kahan, an obesity medicine specialist in Washington, DC, added that even if doctors and patients know that there are FDA-approved drugs, many think they are “unsafe.” or they are not well studied and everyone regains their weight. “
The medical system is largely to blame, Dr. Stanford said. Only 1 percent of U.S. physicians are trained in obesity medicine. “It’s the biggest chronic disease of our time, and no one is learning anything from it,” he said.
Data on patient use of medications predate newer, more effective, and safer drugs made by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. However, say doctors of obesity medicine, they doubt that the figure has changed much compared to previous studies which found that less than 1 percent of those who are eligible got one of these drugs. This is about the same percentage as those who undergo bariatric surgery, which most insurers, including Medicare, pay.
“The perception is,‘ If you’re heavy, get up from your boots and work harder, ’” Dr. Kahan said.
And this, he adds, is a perception shared by many patients, as well as doctors, that makes them reluctant to seek medical help or prescription drugs.