Weight-loss companies have been forced to change their business model due to the popularity of Wegovy, a popular diabetes and obesity drug.
WeightWatchers, Noom and other weight loss programs have been promoting diet and exercise for years. But both organizations recently announced plans to prescribe Wegovy or similar drugs. This is part of ‘s strategy to recognize obesity as a chronic condition.
WeightWatchers announced this change in March, when it acquired Sequence. This telehealth company offers prescriptions for drugs to treat obesity. WeightWatchers announced that it would launch a program in the months to come for its members who are taking these medications.
Last month, Noom Med launched its own platform for telemedicine, Noom Med. This allows users to access the drugs. Noom was founded in 2008. It offers psychological tips for weight loss, and also helps track eating and exercising habits.
Companies said they expanded into prescription medication in response to a changing scientific understanding of obesity and to customer requests to include medications in their weight loss regimens.
Dr. Linda Anegawa is the chief of medicine at Noom. She said, “We’ve always followed science and we’d be remiss if we didn’t join the medical community in this new concept of obesity.”
Dr. Gary Foster said the same thing, Chief Scientific Officer at WeightWatchers. He added that offering medications was “a natural next step” for his company.
We know that GLP-1 is a successful drug and we are aware of the consumer’s interest. Foster wrote in an email that as science and consumer needs evolve, we will also adapt to meet them. Wegovy is a weight-loss drug that belongs to the GLP-1 class.
Wegovy’s popularity has increased since the Food and Drug Administration approved its use for weight loss among adults who have obesity or are overweight and suffer from at least one condition related to weight, such as high cholesterol or blood pressure. Ozempic is Wegovy’s sibling drug. It uses the same formula, but at a reduced dose, and was approved in 2017 for Type 2 diabetics.
Both are brands for semaglutide. This medication can lower blood sugar levels and suppress the appetite by simulating a hormone which signals to the brain that a person has reached fullness. Semaglutide reduced body weight on average by 15% during trials.
A 2018 study, however, found that diet, exercise, and behavioral counseling can only help people lose 5% to 10% on average of their body weight.
“These drugs have shown us that obesity is a biological metabolic problem.” “You can’t overcome it by lifestyle interventions for the most part,” Dr. Eduardo Grunvald said, an obesity medicine doctor at UC San Diego Health.
WeightWatchers, Noom and other companies are “sort of catching-up with science”, Grunvald stated. But it’s also profit-driven, of course. “That’s where there is demand.”
Linda Bolton Weiser is an analyst with D.A. Davidson Companies, a wealth management firm. Jenny Craig, a company that sold pre-packaged diet foods, but did not offer prescription drugs, closed its doors in the last month.
Weiser stated that “for companies who cannot figure out strategically how to do the pharmaceutical thing and if they offer a food item, these companies may suffer.” “That’s Medifast and their Optivia. That would be Jenny Craig. Nutrisystem.”
Weiser stated that WeightWatchers and Noom are able to “check all of the boxes” for people who want to use obesity medication in conjunction with diet and exercise.
Expanding access of weight loss drugs
Dr. Fatima Stanford, associate professor of medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital said that since obesity medicine doctors have a difficult time serving such a large patient population, obese people could benefit by having access to prescription medications through weight-loss firms.
Stanford stated that there was a great demand for their services, but not enough to go around.
She estimates that there are around 5,500 patients on her hospital’s waiting list, and they have all been determined to be eligible for weight loss medication.
Dr. Spencer Nadolsky is Sequence’s Medical Director. He said that some people are having difficulty obtaining these drugs, because general practitioners have not been comfortable prescribing the medications.
Kailey Wood, 36 from Buffalo, New York said that she found it difficult to discuss weight loss with her primary doctor, so she turned towards Sequence.
“I’d get nervous.” Wood said that he would practice what he would say, but would end up feeling helpless and being shut down.
Wood was prescribed Mounjaro through Sequence. This drug is approved for Type 2 diabetes, but doctors can also prescribe it off-label to treat obesity. She said she lost 65 pounds.
Wood wrote in an email that “taking these weight-loss drugs has validated what i knew: that my own body was working against it, and that i wasn’t broke.”
Stanford did note, however, that Wegovy was in short supply. The FDA has reported limited availability for the three lowest doses.
Stanford stated that it is difficult to start someone on a new medication.
Grunvald also expressed concern that companies with a profit motive could prescribe too many medications in the future.
When motivated by quantity, “that’s when the potential for inappropriate prescription comes in,” he said.
Noom Med and Sequence, however, both rejected this idea.
Anegawa stated, “We are not writing rogue medications for people who have a BMI 23 and want to fit into a swimsuit size 8.”
Do subscription services really pay off?
Sequence and Noom Med have said that they will offer prescriptions based on FDA criteria. This includes a BMI (body mass index) of 30 or above or a combined BMI of 27 or above when combined with other weight-related conditions. Anegawa stated that Noom Med’s clinicians could prescribe medication off-label based on guidance from groups such as the Obesity Medical Association.
Sequence only hires physicians who are board-certified, while Noom Med also employs physicians and nurse practitioners who have experience in obesity treatment.
The programs are similar in most cases.
Customers of Sequence fill out a quiz to determine eligibility. Then, they book a consultation with a doctor to review their medical history. Clinicians track side effects and results of weight loss, while customers can also access dietitians and fitness coaches.
Noom Med customers receive bloodwork before their first appointment. A clinician then evaluates the customer’s health and weight. The app allows the patient to message the clinician via the app if they are offered medication. This way, the doctor can adjust the dosage based on the side effects.
Semaglutide is a weight loss medication that should be taken for life.
Grunvald says that the cost of WeightWatchers and Noom is a drawback.
Noom Med costs $49 per month. This is on top of a standard Noom subscription. The Noom subscription starts at $42 per monthly for four months and then increases to $70 or $209 depending on the plan. A monthly subscription to Sequence costs $99 Both programs require that people pay for their medications separately, and these can cost more than $1,000 per month without insurance.
Grunvald says that because weight-loss medication on its own can often promote healthier habits, it is possible that customers will not use the other components of this program.
The question will be: Is it necessary? “Is this extra cost necessary?” He said.
