The person I responded to said that there's no benefit to advice to diet and exercise. Presuming that's true (I doubt that there's 0 effect, and e.g. [1] would disagree), there are still benefits. As I mentioned, advice on dieting and exercising is far from the only tool doctors can reach for here.
There are medical options that doctors can prescribe (or refer to another doctor for a prescription). WeGovy/semaglutide, Adipex, HCG, good old adderall, etc. I haven't followed the space in about a decade so I don't know what's in and what's banned, but I'm aware there are a range of options there. I believe there are some outpatient programs as well, semantically similar to outpatient rehabs.
There are also surgical options that doctors can refer patients to a surgeon for. Laparoscopic bands, gastric bypasses, I think there's a third that I can't recall.
The incredibly sad issue is that doctors are sometimes forced to fall back on advice to diet and exercise because many of these treatments are contra-indicated with common comorbidities of obesity. Anesthesia can be very risky for patients with a BMI of 45 or 50, so they may need to lose weight the old fashioned way until they're at a weight where they can be safely anesthetized. Stimulants (adipex and adderall) are very effective at curbing hunger, but are contra-indicated by high blood pressure which is incredibly common.
I also believe there's a large segment of primary care physicians who aren't up to date on weight loss procedures, because they change fairly frequently relative to something like treating strep throat.
There are medical options that doctors can prescribe (or refer to another doctor for a prescription). WeGovy/semaglutide, Adipex, HCG, good old adderall, etc. I haven't followed the space in about a decade so I don't know what's in and what's banned, but I'm aware there are a range of options there. I believe there are some outpatient programs as well, semantically similar to outpatient rehabs.
There are also surgical options that doctors can refer patients to a surgeon for. Laparoscopic bands, gastric bypasses, I think there's a third that I can't recall.
The incredibly sad issue is that doctors are sometimes forced to fall back on advice to diet and exercise because many of these treatments are contra-indicated with common comorbidities of obesity. Anesthesia can be very risky for patients with a BMI of 45 or 50, so they may need to lose weight the old fashioned way until they're at a weight where they can be safely anesthetized. Stimulants (adipex and adderall) are very effective at curbing hunger, but are contra-indicated by high blood pressure which is incredibly common.
I also believe there's a large segment of primary care physicians who aren't up to date on weight loss procedures, because they change fairly frequently relative to something like treating strep throat.
[1]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6169796/#:~:tex... (