Real-World Data: Sequencing Exomes To Treat Obesity

An estimated 650 million adults live with obesity today, which puts those individuals at increased risk for some of the leading causes of death worldwide, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer. Most prescription weight-loss drugs work by decreasing appetite or providing a feeling of satiety to help people lose weight. The exception is orlistat, which impedes fat absorption. This summer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first new obesity drug since 2014 – semaglutide – which helped clinical trial participants with a BMI of 27 or higher lose as much as 12.4% of their body weight when combined with diet and exercise. This new therapy offers a significant increase in body weight loss over the average 3 to 7% associated with older therapies. But according to a new study published in Science, treating obesity may soon rely on a genetic target.