Obesity: Is the tide turning?

The treatment of obesity has repeatedly been hindered by failure to create an effective anti-obesity medication. Meanwhile, the obesity epidemic has continued to worsen. In recent years, obesity has been reconceptualised as a fat-storage disease, rather than simply a caloric excess. This recognition of the disease as a multifactorial problem has encouraged more research into several potential treatments. Much of this research has focused on the incretin hormones involved in augmenting the release of insulin, gastric inhibitory peptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), which led to the development of the novel medicine tirzepatide, a dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist. In June 2022, the publication of the SURMOUNT-1 trial revealed that tirzepatide could be just as effective at treating obesity as bariatric surgery.