OBESITY SOLUTION THAT BEATS OZEMPIC

SPECIAL REPORT: Often covered by insurance and delivering more powerful results than popular medications, weight-loss surgery might be the right fit for many dieters. Susan dropped 50 pounds in 10 weeks!

- LISA MAXBAUER

Drugs like Ozempic have dominated the diet discussion for the past few years. But this trend leaves many people wondering: What role does weight-loss surgery play in an Ozempic-obsessed world?

"Bariatric surgery has evolved so much over the years—it is still the most powerful tool we have to treat obesity," explains Shauna Levy, M.D., director of bariatric surgery at Tulane University. She sees weight-loss drugs as an important tool, one that has helped the public realize obesity is a complex disease and not a lack of willpower or a moral failing. But, she adds, "Society at large has been so misinformed about the physiology of obesity for so long. We still have a lot of work to do to dispel stigma."

What she wishes more people knew: "Patients don't realize how quick bariatric surgery is. It is safer than having your gallbladder out, and it is performed using very small incisions."

In truth: Weight-loss surgery is still hugely popular and helpful. Worldwide, nearly 600,000 people undergo some version of this surgery each year. (For comparison, about 7.75 million adults in the U.S. are currently using injectable weight-loss drugs, according to a recent Gallup poll.) And studies show that surgery can be lifesaving, lowering a person's risk of premature death by up to 50%.

Weight-loss surgery can also improve quality of life. Dr. Levy explains, "Many of the patients who undergo bariatric surgery do so because they want to get off of medication." That includes diabetes drugs and other prescription meds they would be on for life if they continued to carry unwanted weight that damaged their health. Tonya Spanglo underwent gastric sleeve surgery in 2019. "My life changed that day," she says. She went on to lose a total of 280 pounds, raving, "I'm off all medications now!"