With the development and expanded use of medications for the treatment of obesity, we are able to broaden the tools we can offer patients to treat this condition. Medications like Wegovy and Ozempic have become household names. These medications are classified as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. Glucagon-like peptides are hormones that are naturally produced in the gut (intestines) that help regulate blood sugars and hunger signaling. Since these natural hormones last in our bodies for only a few minutes, GLP-1 medications create longer lasting signaling to potentiate ...

The prevalence of obesity has surged in the setting of the obesity epidemic. Among U.S. children and adolescents 2-19 years old, over the ten years between 2007-2008 and 2017-2018 the prevalence of obesity increased from 16.8 percent to 19.3 percent while severe obesity rose from 4.9 percent to 6.1 percent. Nationally, a greater percentage of non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic children are

Obesity is a challenging and increasingly prevalent medical concern worldwide. The relationship between obesity and numerous other medical conditions including diabetes, cardiovascular concerns, and certain types of cancer is well established. The etiology of obesity is multifaceted; medical, biological, psychological, social, and cultural influences differentially contribute to its development and persistence. As such, it is important to approach obesity and weight loss with the aim of optimizing metabolic health through ...

Note: this piece is an update to the 2024 article Integrating Weight Management in Primary Care, published in this journal, which outlined practical methods to initiating and monitoring patient-centered weight management in a primary care setting. This article specifically addresses the use of GLP-1 and GIP receptor agonists. The availability and increasing popularity of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) ...

I have had the privilege of practicing primary care for over 20 years at a community health center in Chelsea, Mass. This vibrant city is the dignified home to a diverse and proud community. It is also home to a lower-income population, living in a historically red-lined zone with sweltering urban heat islands that routinely experience temperatures 6°F higher than the National Weather Service’s regional report. With overcrowded residential buildings sandwiched among numerous ...

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI), especially since ChatGPT first gained wide recognition in 2022, have led to a wide array of potential applications and solutions for challenges in delivering improved primary care. There are several reasons to be optimistic that these technologies will be a positive transformative force, and some particular areas in which health care systems may also need to exercise some degree of caution. The following are some areas in which we might expect to see clinical improvements as an impact of AI integration, and some ...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in health care refers to the use of advanced computational algorithms and technologies to analyze complex medical data and assist in clinical decision-making, diagnostics, treatment planning, and patient management. Using machine learning, natural language processing, and neural networks, AI can process large datasets, identify patterns, and make predictions based on data that are often beyond the capacity of human cognition, thereby

On April 16, 2024, I took night call for the last time, 64 years after I first took night call. For the last few months, I have been thinking about all of the changes I have seen relating to the nature and content of my time being on call. After my first year at Harvard College in 1959, my mother—the chief technologist in a hospital hematology lab—thought it would be useful for me to get training as a hematology technician during the summer so I could get a job when I returned to school in the fall. She arranged summer work for me in a hematology lab, and when I returned ...