There are more ways to treat obesity than ever before. Get all the details on the medication that could be right for you!
At its most basic level, obesity is an excess accumulation of fat that creates a risk to your health. It’s defined by a person’s Body Mass Index (BMI).
Several anti-obesity medications (AOMs), sometimes known as weight loss pills, have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for weight loss and chronic weight management. To qualify for a prescription, you need to have a BMI of 30 or greater.
Alternatively, if you have a BMI of 27 or greater PLUS a weight-related health complication such as high blood pressure, sleep apnea, or type 2 diabetes, you may be eligible as well, even though you don’t technically have obesity.
Today’s AOMs reliably help people lose 3% to 10% or more of their total body weight. That may not seem like much, but it’s significant, because as a loss in this range, especially as you get towards 10 percent, is known to bring a bevy of health improvements, including a reduction in various heart-related risk factors; a reversal of sleep apnea, or even remission of type 2 diabetes.
Prescription AOMs work in several different ways. Some may make you feel less hungry; cause you to feel fuller, sooner; or may make food taste less appealing. Others can make it more difficult for the body to absorb fat or may ramp up your metabolism, causing you to burn more calories.
