The Trump administration has decided to deny entry visas to the country for economic or health reasons, specifically targeting people with obesity or diabetes. This is yet another way for the populist orange-haired leader to further exploit the scapegoat status of foreigners, now pointing the finger at one of the most stigmatized conditions of our time. Being or being overweight in developed societies is beginning to be considered a true heresy, an unacceptable state in a world based on constant movement, continuous productivity, and the mechanization of human beings into perfect cogs in the machine. Aren't there countless studies on diet and exercise that provide the tools to tame the body and stay within the limits set by BMI? So what prevents weight loss? Body fat is now associated with laziness and a lack of willpower and ambition. The perceived lack of control attributed to someone with a body mass exceeding what is stipulated by health and aesthetic standards is an affront to a world where technology grants almost absolute power over things and nature. Yes, perhaps a fat person is too materialistic, a kind of savage who, instead of embracing and practicing an aesthetic ethic of instinctual mastery, gives in to their cravings. And they enjoy it, and that is truly an intolerable offense. The enjoyment attributed to fat people in their eating habits is a provocation to those who maintain their figure through strict diets and the deprivation of foods considered sinful by the religion of dieting. Therefore, the most transgressive images that can be disseminated today are neither of nudity nor explicit sex. Today, what provokes waves of indignation and all kinds of insults and threats is a woman eating in public. Unless, of course, it's a sad salad or any dish considered light and healthy.

Drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy, which mimic a hormone that regulates blood glucose levels, generate a feeling of satiety, and are used for diabetes and obesity, have become one of the most effective tools to aid in weight loss. Now, the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) has gone a step further, analyzing in a study the different therapeutic alternatives available to people with obesity and concluding that these drugs should be the main treatment for most patients. The success of these drugs, in fact, has long since boosted demand and has led to episodes of Supply problems in Catalan pharmacies.

An increasing number of alternatives to obesity drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy are emerging, and one of those that could soon reach the market has a Catalan imprint. An international phase 3 clinical trial, in which the Vall d'Hebron University participated, has demonstrated the efficacy of a new drug for the treatment of people with obesity. Orforgliprone is a drug that, like other obesity drugs, acts on the GLP-1 receptor, which is found in various cells involved in regulating appetite and metabolism in the brain and digestive tract. However, the difference between this drug and the already well-known Ozempic is that orforgliprone can be taken orally, in capsule or pill form, thus avoiding the complications or limitations of injectable treatment.

Semaglutide drugs—which mimic a hormone that regulates blood glucose levels and are used for diabetes and obesity—became a target of the pharmaceutical industry and have ultimately ended up being prescribed in clinics and dispensed by pharmacies as one of the most effective tools. However, the ease with which they are discontinued prematurely is beginning to worry endocrinologists. A study conducted in Denmark (where the pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk manufactures) warns that half of semaglutide users discontinue treatment within a year.

Strategies to curb the obesity epidemic have failed in recent decades and cases are rising steadily worldwide. According to projections from the World Obesity Federation, more than half of the world's population will be overweight or obese within 10 years, and strategies to combat this disease, such as lifestyle changes, surgery, and medication, are not effective and are not accessible to everyone. Now, researchers from the Universities of Copenhagen and Bristol have developed a new genetic test that can identify children at risk of suffering from severe obesity in the future, which would allow for early detection of the disease. To do so, they analyzed the genetic data of more than five million people in a study published this Monday in the journal Nature Medicine.

At least ten patients have reportedly died in the United Kingdom after suffering from pancreatitis, allegedly as a side effect of so-called anti-obesity injections for weight-loss drugs such as Mounjaro, Wegovy, and Ozempic. According to the British Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), since the introduction of these appetite-suppressing drugs used to treat both obesity and type 2 diabetes, more than 560 reports of patients with pancreatitis have been received. The information was published this Thursday. The Guardian and The Times, although it is only this second medium that quantifies the number of victims, as well as the number of people affected: no less than 560.

The strategies of the last 30 years to contain the advance of obesity in the world have failed and, without strong political action, the projections for 2050 are not optimistic. This is the scenario drawn by the most exhaustive global analysis of overweight and obesity carried out to date, the The Lancet Global Burden of Disease Study. According to the study led by the University of Washington (UW), cases have doubled between 1990 and 2021, with more than 2.1 billion adults and nearly 500 million children and adolescents affected. That is, four out of ten people in the world are obese. But in 25 years, these figures are expected to increase further: 60% of those over 25 years of age (3.8 billion) and a third of children and young people between 5 and 24 years of age (746 million) will suffer from a disease due to excess weight.