Pediatricians are hesitating to prescribe medicines like Wegovy, citing their newness and uncertainties around them.
Dr. Edward Lewis, a pediatrician in Rochester, N.Y., has seen hundreds of children with obesity over the years in his medical practice. He finally may have a treatment for their medical condition — the powerful weight loss drug Wegovy.
But that does not mean Dr. Lewis is prescribing it. Nor are most other pediatricians.
“I am reluctant to prescribe medications we don’t use on a day-to-day basis,” Dr. Lewis said. And, he added, he is disinclined to use “a medicine that is a relative newcomer to the scene in kids.”
Regulators and medical groups have all said that these drugs are appropriate for children as young as 12. But like Dr. Lewis, many pediatricians hesitate to prescribe Wegovy to young people, fearful that too little is known about long term effects, and mindful of past cases when problems emerged years after a drug was approved.
Twenty-two percent of adolescents age 12 to 19 have obesity. Research shows that most are unlikely to ever overcome the condition — advice to diet and exercise usually has not helped. The reason, obesity researchers say, is that obesity is not caused by a lack of will power. Instead, it is a chronic disease characterized by an overwhelming desire to eat.
I was extremely tired when I wrote that comment. Should have been more clear. Forget the gardening lol, the other foods I listed are easily purchased from most grocery stores and are very much affordable. Rice, beans, lentils, frozen veggies, oatmeal, etc. Get a crock pot and throw a bunch of that stuff in it (with maybe some bouillon, cheap canned stock, or spices of choice), then bam! Cheap, healthy food for the whole week.