Public Health Challenge Essay

Possibly the most imperative public health challenge for the United States today is the obesity epidemic the population has. This obesity epidemic, is linked to an array of costly and debilitating health consequences. The widespread challenge of obesity and the health problems and concerns that go with that is an American public health problem. FDA’s approval of two new medications that can help to decrease some of the obesity , decrease some of the chronic diseases associated with obesity, and decrease the costs associated with obesity. This essay will be addressing these pertinent problems and will prove that the new FDA drugs approved for weight loss will help American’s with weight loss that will decrease obesity, decrease chronic illnesses that are associated with obesity and decrease health care costs. Prevention of obesity along with investing in research is necessary for us to see a change in the obesity epidemic (Hammond, 2012). Research suggests that decreasing obesity will decrease the costs of health care, decrease chronic illnesses associated with obesity. Total obesity costs would be much more reduced, along with the cost for other conditions caused by excess weight in our population (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen & Dietz, 2009). Research suggests that the newest FDA approved diet pills will benefit Americans by decreasing obesity, decreasing chronic diseases associated with obesity and decreasing health care costs. Research shows that newest FDA approved diet pills Qysimia, and Blviq (lorcaserin), are helping to decrease obesity in the American population that were taking these medications. The new diet drugs approved by FDA will benefit Americans by decreasing obesity rates in the American population. With two-thirds of all our population being obese or overweight or and the related cost of health costs, FDA was under pressure to approve any weight loss treatments (Berkrot & Yukhananov, 2012). The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permitted long-term weight loss obesity drugs for the first time in 13 years, these drugs are suppose to help unhealthy overweight and obese Americans with weight control that have been unsuccessful (FDA, 2012). These two new drugs, Belviq (lorcaserin) and Qsymia will be a tool to help Americans get and stay at a healthy weight (FDA, 2012). Belviq (lorcaserin) is one of the two new drugs that have been approved by the FDA. Resesearch currently showing promise and benefit from this medication. Belviq (lorcaserin) which drug’s efficacy submitted by FDA and Arena pharmaceuticals show a weight loss of five percent of their starting weight, averaging twelve pounds (Park, 2012a). Belviq (lorcaserin) works activating the brain receptors for serotonin which help to control appetite. Arena researchers explain that their drug is designed to seek out these appetite serotonin receptors and saturate them so that appetite is controlled. FDA and Arena pharmaceuticals show a weight loss of five percent of their starting weight, averaging twelve pounds. The best results have been shown in people that are on a healthy diet and an exercise program (Park, 2012a). FDA has approved this medications for obese patients with a BMI of 30 or above, or if a BMI of 27 and high cholesterol, hypertension or Type 2 diabetes. Side effects associated with this medication are fatigue, dizziness, dry mouth, constipation, headache and nausea; side effects for diabetic patients are fatigue, low blood sugar, headache, back pain and cough. The standard labeling for Belviq suggests that the drug be terminated in patients who fail to drop 5 percent of their body weight after 12 weeks of therapy, because they will probably not start achieving weight loss. When Belviq is given 10 milligrams twice a day, Belviq does not appear to activate the serotonin 2B receptor, which is what caused the withdrawal of fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine drugs because of cardiac issues. (Yao, 2012). The weight loss proven in research from this drug proves that Bekviq (lorcaserin) that will helped decrease the obesity in the American population that are prescribed this medication. A second new drug Qsymia, made by Vivus, is has been approved by FDA closely behind Belviq. Qsymia which drug’s efficacy in trials show a weight loss of 8.4 -10.6 percent of their starting weight. (2012b). This drug is a combination drug, topiramate, and phenertermine. Phentermine is an appetite suppressant stimulant, and topiramate is an anti-seizure medication that makes gives people the feeling of being fuller after eating. Research suggests that it works by targeting brain receptors that trigger eating too much. With clinical trials, obese patients that took Qsymia for a full year lost on average 8.4 % to 10.6% of their weight, the weight loss increased with higher doses. The FDA’s approval of Qsymia, after such a long diet-drug drought and despite the potential safety problems that plague weight-loss pills, marks a willingness to make new solutions available. FDA approved this drug for obese people with a BMI of thirty or greater or twenty-seven or more with another co-morbidity disease. Risks or side effects include increased heart rate, birth defects for pregnant women, and metabolic acidosis. With the American population increasing in obesity by over a third of the adults and effective weight loss treatments are few and rare. FDA approving these new weight loss pills shows us that new solutions are available (Park, 2012b). The weight loss associated with this drug is greater than that of Belviq but the potential complications and risk may be greater. FDA approving these two new drugs Qysmia and Belviq after a 13 year gap in FDA diet drug approval is promising to Americans, both drugs shows a substantial weight loss in obese patients with BMI of 27 or greater. This weight loss will be effective in decreasing obesity in the American population. These drugs are supposed to help unhealthy overweight and obese Americans with weight control that has been unsuccessful (Yao, 2012). Belviq (lorcase-rin) is a 10 mg tablet taken twice a day that works by sending signals to the brain that controls hunger. Weight loss from Belviq in studies averaged 3-3.7 percent. Qsymia is taken once a day, with patients starting at the lowest dose (3.75 mg phentermine/23 mg topira-mate extended-release), then increas-ing to the recommended dose (7.5mg/46 mg). The maximum dose increased to the highest dose (15 mg/92 mg). Weight loss from Qsymia in studys averaged 6.7-8.9 percent. Orlistat is the last FDA approved drug on the market currently. Prescriptions approved by FDA in the past have a history being removed because of detrimental side effects (FDA, 2012). A new solution for weight loss is necessary to help decrease the obesity epidemic in the United States and the FDA’s approval of Qsymia and Belviq, is the a start to answering how Americans can make weight loss being accessible (Park, 2012a). The two new diet drugs, Qysmia and Belviq approved by FDA will benefit Americans by decreasing chronic diseases associated with obesity in the American population. Conditions associated to obesity include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of preventable death. (CDC, 2012). Decreasing obesity will decrease the amount and or severity of these chronic. Obesity is defined as an adult with a BMI (Body Mass Index) greater than 30 and overweight is defined as BMI of 25- to 29.9 or greater. In 2009-2010 37.5% of the American population was obese according to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (Ogden, Carroll, Kit & Flegal, 2012). BMI is not a diagnostic tool. For example, if a person has a high BMI, a health care provider would need to perform further assessments to determine if the excess weight is a health risk. These assessments might include evaluations of diet, physical activity, family history, blo od tests and other appropriate health screenings (CDC, 2011). With over one third of Americans being overweight it increases the chronic illnesses of over one third of our population. Almost 41 million women and more than 37 million men aged 20 and over were obese in 2009–2010. Obesity leads to higher health risks and chronic diseases including type two diabetes, hypertension, and increased lipids to name a few. Adults aged 60 and over were more likely to be obese than younger adults. The Healthy People 2010 goals of 15% obesity among adults and 5% obesity among children were not met (Ogden, Carroll, Kit & Flegal, 2012). Decreasing obesity rates will decrease our chronic illnesses associated with obesity. . An effective obesity prevention strategy will be to include education and change policies to incorporate healthy changes to decrease obesity. According to an analysis in the American Journal of Public Health, as little as a 5 percent reduction in the prevalence of diabetes and hypertension would save almost $25 billion annually in med ium-term health care costs (Hammond, 2012). Sixty percent of the Americans obese or overweight population reported one or more chronic illnesses that were associated with obesity, in 2006, compared to 33 percent of normal-weight adults. Cardiovascular disease is one of the major risks associated with obesity. The excess fat associated with obesity raises cholesterol and blood pressure. Decreasing the excess fat will decrease cardiovascular disease. Cancer over the last decades has been linked to obesity, decreasing obesity will decrease some of the cancer risks. Type II diabetes is the one chronic disease mainly associated to obesity, and studies suggest that a weight gain of 11 pounds or more in adult aged patients is associated with 27 percent of type 2 diabetes (Combs, 2011). Decreasing weight of 11 pounds which is a possibility for patients on these diet drugs will decrease these chronic illnesses. The new approved diet pills help decrease chronic diseases associated with obesity as evidenced by decreased chronic illnesses being present in lower weighted Americans The new diet drugs approved by FDA will benefit Americans by decreasing health care cost associated with obesity in the American population. This obesity epidemic is associated with increased health care costs and will continue to increase over the next years. Prevention of obesity along with investing in research is necessary for us to see a change in the obesity epidemic (Hammond, 2012). Obesity cost health care large amounts of money and is a health concern (Berkrot & Yukhananov, 2012). The abstract â€Å"Annual medical spending attributable to obesity† connects the unquestionable connection between growing rates of obesity and escalating medical spending. The liability of obesity has escalated to almost ten percent of all medical spending and could amount to $ 147 billion in 2008 these are the overall estimates that the authors found (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen & Dietz, 2009). As a result, the article will be useful to support the points that decreasing obesity will decre ase health care costs. Obesity rates have continued to escalate despite all aspects of government’s efforts including state, national and local. This is a concern to the American public and also to the health care industry. The medical charges increased by 37 percent from 1998 to estimated 2006 numbers. The rising number of Americans with obesity is influencing the increases in total medical costs. Amplified costs is evidenced by prescription drug benefits from Medicare, that show Medicare overweight recipients spend $600 per year more than non obese Medicare recipients. The authors estimate that the occurrence of obesity being on the rise is to blame for the greater than before health care costs from 1998 to 2006 (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen & Dietz, 2009). These numbers show again that reduction in obesity rates will decrease all medical costs including the $600 Medicare costs. Methods and Study data points are used for research in this article. This article goes over the methods used in the research. The methods used are a four part equation regression approach to predict the total medical spending. This is part of the modifications to allow stratifications to be more detailed , by separate spending from inpatient to outpatient settings, prescription costs of drugs, each service then was able to conclude and predict total spending (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen & Dietz, 2009). The methods include accounting for Body Mass Index (BMI), BMI greater than 30 was used. Regressions for characteristics included control of ethnicity/race, age, income, smoking status, marital status, and insurance variables. Running separate models for each payer. Each type of service calculated from total predicted spending for obese patient had they be calculated to normal weight using bootstrap method. Also using obesity prevalence increase by computing the difference in these from 2006 back to 1998, shows hypothetical obesity costs and attributable to 2006 (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen & Dietz, 2009). All this shows us that decreasing obesisty will decrease the cost of health care. Results of the first exhibit show obese persons had medical increase spending that was 42 percent larger ($1429/per person) then non obese persons. Results of the second exhibit that show costs estimates by payer show Medicaid increase of forty-seven percent, private insurance increased by fifty-eight percent and Medicare costs increased by 36 percent. Exhibit three type of service shows prescription drug increase from sixty percent to eighty-one percent, Inpatient increase from 4 percent to ninety percent and outpatient increase from fourteen percent to forty percent. Exhibit four shows medical spending attributable to cumulative obesity shows increases on all spending , this show that if obesity would have remained the same prevalence from 1998 we would have shown 47 billion spent in 2006 instead of 86 billion. These results imply that the eighty-nine percent of the spending was accounted by the obesity numbers rising (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen & Dietz, 2009). This is a significant amount of money in all the exhibits. The authors provide evidence and statistics that support the argument that obesity increases the cost of health care and that reduction in obesity will in turn decrease the cost of health care. The article provides results and also explains the new evidence of the important role of prescription drug spending, in increasing the costs of obesity. The main message of this article obesity will continue to inflict major expenses on the health system for the upcoming years, without a solid and persistent decline in obesity prevalence. Although pharmaceutical, medical, and surgical interventions to treat obesity are available, these treatments remain rare.. Pharmaceutical is one of the three types of interventions we use to treat obesity. Pharmaceutical treatments are remaining rare in treating obesity. If not for obesity, total obesity costs would be much more reduced, along with the cost for other conditions caused by excess weight in our population (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen & Dietz, 2009). This article discusses it limitations. A limitation of this source is that, though the page has credibility the authors do cite the limitations of this analysis being that the dependence of height and weight being reported is done by individuals. And the regressions of sample from 1998 is only half that of 2006 sample. This approach does not allow for precise diseases or behaviors connected with obese individuals (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen & Dietz, 2009) Workers all over the world are experiencing cost increases to health care because of obesity. Employers estimated costs of health care decrease with decrease in weight (CDC, 2011). Total obesity costs would be much more reduced, along with the cost all chronic diseases and conditions caused by excess weight in our population (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen & Dietz, 2009). The newest FDA approved diet pills benefit us by decreasing obesity for the American population that takes this medication. American obesity has been evidenced by studies that show a measurable weight loss. The new approved diet pills Qysimia and Belviq will decrease chronic diseases associated with obesity as evidenced by decreased chronic illnesses being present in lower weighted Americans (even a few pounds changes many chronic illnesses assosciated with obesity. Decreasing obesity will decrease health care costs as evidenced by costs decreasing by $1429 per person less on non obese patients (Finkelstein, Trogdon, Cohen & Dietz, 2009). Research data given in above essay suggests that the newest FDA approved diet pills will benefit Americans by decreasing obesity, decreasing chronic diseases associated with obesity and decreasing health care costs. The thesis has been proven to be correct, with the above information. Research showed that the newest FDA approved diet pills does benefit Americans by decreasing obesity, decreasing chronic diseases associated with obesity and decreasing health care costs. References Berkrot, B., & Yukhananov, H. (2012). Fda oks first obesity drug in 13 years. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/27/us-arena-obesity-idUSBRE85Q1AA20120627 CDC. (2011, October 06). Cdc. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/leanworks/costcalculator/index.html CDC. (2012, August 13). Cdc. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html Combs, S. (2011). Retrieved from website: http://www.window.state.tx.us/specialrpt/obesitycost/pdf/GainingCostsLosingTime.pdf FDA. (2012). Retrieved from website: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/UCM312391.pdf Finkelstein, E., Trogdon, J., Cohen, J., & Dietz, W. (2009). Annual medical spending attributable to obesity: Payer-and service-specific estimates. Retrieved from http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/28/5/w822.full.pdf html Hammond, R. A. (2012). Obesity, prevention, and healthcare costs. Retrieved from http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2012/05/04-health-care-hammond Ogden, C. L., Carroll , M. D., Kit, B. K., & Flegal, K. M. (2012). Retrieved from National Center for Health Statistics for Health S website: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db82.pdf Park, A. (2012, June 28).