Tag: obesity

Weight-loss jab users are being left with debilitating new side-effect, one of the UK’s leading orthopaedic surgeons warns

Weight-loss jab users are being left with a devastating new side-effect, a top surgeon has warned.

The alarming trend spotted amongst GLP-1 users means some patients cannot lift their limbs due to nerve dysfunction.

One of the UK’s leading orthopaedic surgeons, Tim Sinnett, has said he ‘expects to see more patients presenting these symptoms over time’.

The Foot and Ankle Surgeon, who is part of the prestigious Grosvenor Orthopaedic Partners group, added: ‘In the past six months, I have seen a handful of patients with foot drop related to weight-loss jabs – a phenomenon which has only presented itself this year.

‘The sudden loss of weight, associated with this medication, is what is causing the problem.

‘All nerves have a natural rim of fat around them. Suddenly losing weight, and the fat surrounding nerves, can cause this nerve dysfunction in the foot and ankle.

‘Patients with foot drop can have difficulty lifting the front part of the foot, causing it to drag on the floor.

‘Although losing weight is generally beneficial for the feet and ankles, in terms of reducing the force on the joints, the speed of the weight loss appears to be causing the nerves to malfunction.

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There may not be a safe off-ramp for some taking GLP-1 drugs, study suggests

The popularity of GLP-1 weight-loss medications continues to soar—and their uptake is helping to push down obesity rates on a national scale—but a safe, evidence-based way off the drugs isn’t yet in clear view.

An analysis published this week in JAMA Internal Medicine found that most participants in a clinical trial who were assigned to stop taking tirzepatide (Zepbound from Eli Lilly) not only regained significant amounts of the weight they had lost on the drug, but they also saw their cardiovascular and metabolic improvements slip away. Their blood pressure went back up, as did their cholesterol, hemoglobin A1c (used to assess glucose control levels), and fasting insulin.

In an accompanying editorial, two medical experts at the University of Pittsburgh, Elizabeth Oczypok and Timothy Anderson, suggest that this new class of drugs should be rebranded from “weight loss” drugs to “weight management” drugs, which people may need to take indefinitely.

Some studies have found that about half of people who start taking a GLP-1 drug for weight loss stop taking it within a year—for various reasons—and many people think they can stop taking anti-obesity drugs once they’ve reached a desired weight, Oczypok and Anderson write. But that’s not in line with the data.

“It may be helpful to compare them to other chronic disease medications; patients do not stop their anti-hypertensive medications when their blood pressure is at goal,” they write.

In the trial, researchers—led by Eli Lilly scientists—followed 670 participants with obesity or overweight (but without diabetes) who were treated with tirzepatide for 36 weeks. Then the participants were split into either continuing with the drug for another 52 weeks (88 weeks total) or getting a placebo for that period of time. Both groups were told to continue a reduced-calorie diet and an exercise plan.

In all, 335 participants were randomized to switch to a placebo, and the researchers monitored changes in their weight and cardiovascular health metrics after the switch. Not everyone in the first phase of the trial lost significant amounts of weight on the drug. So, the researchers only closely tracked the 308 of the 335 who lost at least 10 percent of their body weight on the drug.

Of the 308 who benefited from tirzepatide, 254 (82 percent) regained at least 25 percent of the weight they had lost on the drug by week 88. Further, 177 (57 percent) regained at least 50 percent, and 74 (24 percent) regained at least 75 percent. Generally, the more weight people regained, the more their cardiovascular and metabolic health improvements reversed.

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Trump Administration Moves to Protect U.S. Taxpayers — Foreign Visa Seekers With Costly Medical Conditions Like Diabetes and Obesity May Be Denied Entry Under New Directive

The Trump administration has quietly issued a sweeping directive instructing U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide to tighten visa‐issuance standards for applicants with costly medical conditions.

The new policy will give visa officers discretion to deny individuals with conditions such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and mental‐health disorders if their lifetime care is deemed likely to become a burden on U.S. taxpayers.

According to KFF Health News, the U.S. Department of State reportedly instructs consular officers to assess whether visa applicants, and in some cases, their dependents, could become a “public charge” due to medical costs over their expected lifespan. Conditions flagged in the guidance include, but are not limited to:

  • Cardiovascular diseases
  • Respiratory diseases
  • Cancers
  • Diabetes and metabolic diseases
  • Neurological or mental health disorders
  • Obesity, explicitly mentioned as a red flag due to its connection to sleep apnea, asthma, hypertension, and other expensive conditions.

“Does the applicant have adequate financial resources to cover the costs of such care over his entire expected lifespan without seeking public cash assistance or long-term institutionalization at government expense?” the guidance stated.

“Self-sufficiency has been a long-standing principle of US immigration policy … and the public-charge ground of inadmissibility has been a part of our immigration law for more than 100 years.”

The Trump administration frames this directive as a taxpayer-protection measure.

A spokesperson for the State Department told Fox News, “It’s no secret the Trump administration is putting the interests of the American people first. This includes enforcing policies that ensure our immigration system is not a burden on the American taxpayer.”

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Trump’s Weight-loss Drug Deal: Cheaper Shots, But Is It MAHA?

President Donald Trump has unveiled a sweeping action to slash the cost of the nation’s most expensive weight-loss drugs, casting it as a turning point for both healthcare affordability and economic fairness. In what the White House calls a “historic” agreement with pharmaceutical giants Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, the administration announced that prices for popular GLP-1 agonists (weight-loss drugs) such as Ozempic and Wegovy will drop by more than two-thirds under a new initiative known as TrumpRx. The program is a government-backed platform that allows Americans to purchase prescription drugs at discounted rates negotiated by the administration.

The measure, described by officials as one of the largest single reductions in drug prices in U.S. history, aims to make medications long seen as luxury treatments accessible to millions of Americans battling obesity and related conditions.

Applause for the move was far from unanimous. Within the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) camp — the wing of the movement that believes real health starts with prevention rather than prescriptions — the mood was restrained. Critics argue that the deal hands pharmaceutical companies both market dominance and political validation, locking Americans further into a medical model driven by patented injections.

The Deal

The White House framed the deal as a landmark victory for American consumers:

The agreement represents a historic reduction in prices for Americans on the two drugs with the highest annual expenditures in the United States, both of which help adults struggling with diabetes, heart disease (Ozempic and Wegovy only), obesity, and other conditions.

Under the terms of the new arrangement, the monthly cost of Ozempic and Wegovy will fall from about $1,000 and $1,350, respectively, to $350 when purchased through TrumpRx. Prices for Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Orforglipron, once approved, will be reduced from $1,086 to an average of $346. If — or rather when — the FDA later authorizes the Wegovy pill or similar oral GLP-1 drugs currently in development, “the initial dose of those drugs will be priced at $150 per month” through the portal.

The administration said the new pricing will allow Medicare and Medicaid to cover obesity treatments “at a dramatically lower cost to taxpayers than that proposed by the Biden Administration.” Under the agreement, Medicare will pay just $245 a month for drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound. That is less than half of prior proposals.

According to the fact sheet:

These low prices will enable Medicare to cover Wegovy and Zepbound for patients with obesity and related comorbidities for the first time.

Beneficiaries “will pay a co-pay of just $50 per month.” Plus, “state Medicaid programs will also have access to these medications at these prices.”

The deal also extends to other high-cost medicines. Eli Lilly’s Emgality, a migraine therapy, will now cost $299 per pen, down $443 from its list price. Trulicity, another diabetes treatment, will fall to $389 per month, a reduction of nearly $600. Novo Nordisk’s insulin products NovoLog and Tresiba will be capped at $35 per monthly supply.

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WTH: Secret Service Agent Who Never Passed a Fitness Test Was Moonlighting as a ‘Plus-Size Model’

What is going on at the Secret Service?

RealClearPolitics is sounding the alarm on the DEI and woke culture still plaguing the Secret Service.

According to RCP, Secret Service Chief Sean Curran’s personnel decisions are raising eyebrows after he promoted one of

“Earlier this month, Curran also promoted disgraced former Director Kimberly Cheatle’s chief of staff to one of eight division chiefs in charge of more than 3,000 people. Counter critics argue she’s a respected, preeminent cybersecurity expert,” RealClearPolitics reporter Susan Crabtree said.

Additionally, it was also revealed that one of the Secret Service agents was an overweight woman who also modeled plus-size clothing for plus-size apparel brand Eloquii.

“DEI policies during Cheatle’s tenure pushed 30% recruitment of women by 2030; allowed overweight recruits; an agent to moonlight as a plus-size model trading on her law enforcement status; LGBTQ+ junkets to overseas conferences promoting ‘trans-inclusive culture” + the lowering of physical training standards for transgender agents, rainbow badges, pins, daily online “cafe” chatrooms for Latino, Black, LGBTQ+ employees,” Susan Crabtree said.

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Nearly 7 In 10 American Adults Meet New Definition Of Obese: Study

Almost 70 percent of American adults are considered obese under a revamped definition of obesity, according to a peer-reviewed study published in the JAMA Network Open and conducted by researchers affiliated with the Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital.

Traditionally, obesity was defined as having an elevated body mass index (BMI), calculated by dividing a person’s weight by their height. Earlier this year, the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology published a new definition of obesity, which incorporated anthropometrics, which include body measurements such as waist circumference, waist to height ratio, and waist to hip ratio, in addition to BMI, the study said.

An individual is now classified as obese under three conditions—if they have an elevated BMI plus at least one elevated anthropometric measure or a BMI greater than 40; or at least two elevated anthropometric measures irrespective of BMI; or excess body fat, according to the study.

Researchers analyzed the U.S.-based All of Us database to determine the prevalence of obesity under the new definition.

Of the 301,026 participants aged 18–80 years included in the analysis, 128,992 individuals (42.9 percent) were deemed to be obese under the traditional BMI-based criteria. But under the new definition, 206,361 individuals, or 68.6 percent, were considered obese. Obesity was found to be more prevalent with older age.

“We already thought we had an obesity epidemic, but this is astounding,” said co-first author Lindsay Fourman, according to an Oct. 15 report by The Harvard Gazette, the official news website for Harvard University.

“With potentially 70 percent of the adult population now considered to have excess fat, we need to better understand what treatment approaches to prioritize.”

According to the study, 78,047 participants (25.9 percent) who were not classified as obese under the traditional definition were reclassified as having obesity under the anthropometrics-only criteria. Among these individuals, 22.3 percent had a BMI traditionally classified as underweight or normal, with the remaining in the overweight category.

The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology guideline also introduced the concept of clinical and preclinical obesity. Clinical obesity refers to people who have obesity-associated organ dysfunction and/or physical limitation, while preclinical obesity pertains to individuals without such obesity-related issues.

Under the new definition, 36.1 percent of overall participants had clinical obesity, researchers found. Individuals with BMI plus anthropometric obesity were found to have a higher proportion of clinical obesity.

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The DARK UNDERBELLY of Weight Loss ‘Miracle’ Drugs

Now, first, let me get one thing outta the way. No, I’ve never really struggled with weight issues. I do have my issues (definitely some screws loose), but poor physical health has never been one of them.

Of course, I’m relatively young.

So what I’m saying is, I certainly cannot relate to people who are constantly overweight despite their best efforts, let alone somebody who is bordering on morbidly obese.

I’ve always had a fast metabolism, and for the most part, I’ve always been active, competitive in sports throughout high school and college. But I’ve also been lucky. Still, I continuously prioritize whole, clean eating when I can, getting out in nature, and regularly doing other things that maybe those darn tree-huggers were right about all along…

Okay. Now that that’s outta the way…

Have you noticed that many people who have hopped on the ‘fat shot’ were also highly supportive of the COVID injections at some point?

Although many of them – even those who were giddy to get jabbed – have fallen quiet about the “mmRNA” in recent times, perhaps realizing they were duped, that hasn’t stopped them from buying into the next big thing, in this case: Big Pharma’s panacea.

It’s good for diabetes! It’s good for weight loss! It’s good for your heart! It’s going to make you live foreeeeeever!!

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New ‘unusual’ side effect of weight-loss drugs becoming more common, research suggests

A new “unusual” side effect of weight-loss drugs is becoming more common, research has suggested.

Weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy have soared in popularity. About one in eight U.S. adults said they’ve taken a GLP-1 drug, used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll published in May 2024.

But like with any other drugs, there are side effects, including a newly found one that could interfere with medical imaging.

Researchers from ​​Alliance Medical, a European imaging service provider, reviewed oncologic FDG PET-CT scans in patients taking GLP-1 drugs.

With an FDG PET scan, a patient gets an IV injection of a radiotracer called fluorodeoxyglucose. Diseased cells in the patient’s body absorb more of the radiotracer than healthy ones do, and the PET scanner detects these “hot spots”, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Healthcare providers may perform a PET scan and a CT scan, which uses X-rays, at the same time to produce more accurate 3D images.

Alliance Medical researchers found several abnormal patterns of FDG uptake in patients taking GLP-1 drugs, according to a September presentation at the Annual Congress of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine. These abnormal patterns could be misinterpreted by doctors if a patient’s medication history is not considered.

“We noticed unusual uptake in one of our patients on a GLP-1 agonist, which prompted a wider review across our network,” lead author Dr. Peter Strouhal, Medical Director at Alliance Medical, said in a statement published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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The Comfortable Collapse: How America Learned to Pretend Obesity Is Normal

Walk into any American airport today and pause. Look around at the travelers waiting at the gate, the families queuing for fast food, the crowds rushing past. You are looking at a country that our grandparents would not recognize. In less than three generations, the very shape of the American body has shifted so dramatically that what would once have been regarded as rare or concerning is now routine. Airplane seats have been widened, retail clothing racks have been extended, mannequins have been reshaped, and soda cups have been enlarged. Entire industries have recalibrated to accommodate a physiology that is neither healthy nor sustainable.

Yet our cultural narrative increasingly insists that this shift is normal—sometimes even desirable. We are told that larger mannequins are a sign of “representation,” that rebranded fashion shows signify “inclusivity,” and that bigger chairs and bigger uniforms are gestures of compassion. But none of this changes biology. A mannequin does not get diabetes. A marketing campaign cannot erase hypertension. And no amount of “body positivity” cancels the cruel arithmetic of metabolic disease.

Obesity is not normal physiology. It is common, costly, and deadly. Pretending otherwise is not kindness—it is cultural anesthesia.

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FDA targets Hims & Hers, posts more than 100 letters to drugmakers

The Trump administration is cracking down on pharmaceutical advertising and they are specifically targeting telehealth companies that promote unofficial versions of weight loss medications.

More than 100 letters were posted by the Food and Drug Administration to drugmakers and online prescribing companies. Hims & Hers built a multibillion-dollar business around weight loss interventions. The letters warned the companies, including Hims & Hers, to remove “false and misleading ” promotional statements and advertising from their website.

Your claims imply that your products are the same as an FDA-approved product when they are not,” states the warning letter, dated Sept. 9.

Hims said Tuesday that it “looks forward to engaging with the FDA.”

“Our website and our customer-facing materials note that compounded treatments are not approved or evaluated by the FDA,” the company said in a statement.

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