Doctors test the limits of what obesity drugs can fix
Lesa Walton had suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for years. “It was terrible,” said Ms. Walton, 57, who lives in Wenatchee, Wash. “I kept getting sicker and sicker.”She also had high blood pressure and was obese. Doctors told her to go on a diet and exercise, which she did, to no avail.Then she found a doctor who prescribed Wegovy, one of the new obesity drugs. Not only has she lost more than 50 pounds, she said; Her arthritis resolved and she no longer needed pills to lower her blood pressure.Her new doctor, Dr. Stefie Deeds, an internist and obesity medicine specialist in private practice in Seattle, said Ms. Walton exemplifies a growing movement in obesity medicine.Proponents call it “obesity first.” The idea is to treat obesity with drugs approved for that use. As obesity come...