Dr. Kevin Volpp of the University of Pennsylvania worries about promoting the widespread use of obesity drugs. He worries about the idea of tens of millions of Americans injecting themselves weekly with drugs to curb their appetites.
“There is not enough money in the system to suddenly fund drugs for that many people,” Dr. Volpp said.
He prefers to reserve the drugs for adults with the most serious diseases related to obesity.
Instead of handing out drugs to nearly all who qualify, Dr. Volpp said the country needed to consider other solutions, like marketing restrictions and taxes on sugary beverages.
He also would like health insurers to help subsidize the purchase of healthy food for those who can’t afford it and have chronic medical problems, like diabetes, that are related to diet. Eleven states have secured permission to test the use of state Medicaid programs for pilot studies along those lines, he said.
“All this is like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle,” Dr. Volpp said. “But we have to try everything that will help make our population healthier, given the rise in obesity from 12% to 40% in the past few decades.”