Evaluating Current Obesity Medications and Bariatric Surgery Options

Saturday, October 15 at 4:15 pm

When obese patients have not been responsive to lifestyle modification alone, whether through direct patient counseling, referral to a registered dietitian, or participation in a commercial weight loss program, options exist to intensify treatment with pharmacotherapy or bariatric surgery depending upon their BMI and medical complications.

However, many clinicians are not familiar or comfortable with the newer medications approved for the treatment of obesity.

Robert Kushner, MD, MS, FACP, hopes that will change after his session on Saturday, “A Personalized Approach to Obesity Treatment: Evaluating Current Obesity Medications and Bariatric Surgery Options.”

The session will review the when and how to intensify medical treatment for patients with obesity unresponsive to lifestyle management alone, said Dr Kushner, professor of medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. Attendees will learn about the four anti-obesity medications approved by the FDA since 2012, including their unique mechanisms of action, effectiveness, side effect profile, safety, and indications.

In addition, attendees also will learn about the role of bariatric surgery for patients who struggle with severe obesity and associated co-morbid conditions; the different procedures performed, proposed mechanisms of action, and the metabolic effects on diabetes; how to nutritionally manage patients following bariatric surgery.

“Clinicians must become part of the solution to treat the onslaught of obesity that we are seeing among our patients,” said Dr Kushner, also the director of the Center for Lifestyle Medicine, Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. “We can no longer simply give the message ‘eat less and move more.’ More effective treatments are available. Clinicians must become educated about these treatments and employ them in practice when called upon.”

—Mike Bederka