In part 1 we started looking at a study called Weight Regain after cessation of medication for weight management systemic review and meta-analysis by West et al. and in part 2 we looked at the findings. Today I thought it would be helpful to look at how the media is covering this study so we can see how these findings translate. If you haven’t read part 2 (or, at least, the summary) then I recommend starting there.

In Part 1 we began discussing Weight Regain after cessation of medication for weight management systemic review and meta-analysis by West et al. Today we’ll discuss the findings. This is a long one so I’ve got a summary and then a deeper dive.

I’ve received well over a hundred questions about this new study, all asking roughly the same thing - what does this mean?

In Part 1 we’ll talk about the study authors and methodology

Part 2 we’ll talk about the findings

Part 3 we’ll talk about how the media is covering the study

The study we are looking at is called Weight Regain after cessation of medication for weight management systematic review and meta-analysis by West et al.

I was recently advocating for a patient who needed an emergency head CT to rule out some potentially serious complications. (Luckily she was fine and her symptoms had the least concerning diagnosis.) Of course, I have her permission to write about this.

A content note, this post is going to include medical weight stigma.

After the imaging was done and the report completed the doctor came into the room to tell her that everything on the CT looked “great”.

The next day, the results were released to her MyChart and she had an unpleasant experience that I’ve heard from many other patients.

The first line of the “impression” section was “Significantly limited evaluation due to body habitus.” That was also the first line of the “findings” section.

In part 1 we looked at the basics of the newly approved Wegovy pill for weight loss. In part 2 we began looking at the trial that was used for approval (Oral Semaglutide at a Dose of 25 mg in Adults with Overw*ight or Ob*sity.) Today we’ll look at the findings of that trial.

In Part 1 we looked at what Novo Nordisk’s page said about the new Wegovy Pill for weight loss. Today we’ll look at the trial. Now, Novo didn’t link to the trial (or even mention the name or the authors) on the webpage. They did say twice that it was a 64 week trial. That threw me off for a minute because it was actually written up as a 71 week trial, but we’ll get to that.

Wow did I get a lot of requests to write about this! We’ll start with some basic information today and then break down the actual trial data in the rest of this series.

I received the following question from reader Rebecca:

This is my first New Years away from dieting and while I am happier (and healthier, though I know that’s complicated) than ever. Still I am struggling with New Years Resolution season, do you have any tips for making non-diet resolutions that focus on my health?

I’m happy to help, you are definitely not alone in trying to navigate this time of year in weight-neutral, non-diet ways!

In part 1 we talked about a trial of semaglutide for knee osteoarthritis. In part 2 we compared that trial to a trial that used metformin. Today we’re going to talk about research around behavioral (non-pharmacotherapy) weight-neutral interventions.

In part 1 we looked at a study of the effect of semaglutide 2.4mg (Wegovy) on knee osteoarthritis. Today we’ll look at two studies that consider the effect of metformin and compare that with the semaglutide study.