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For the first time in a decade, obesity in the US is declining — and a new study suggests it’s because of wildly popular medications such as Ozempic. The number of obese Americans has been steadily climbing for years, and the country’s average body mass index, or BMI, has been creeping up along with it. But in 2023, something changed: Obesity levels fell to 43.96% from 44.1% the year prior. It’s a small decline, but a meaningful one, researchers say. (Muller, 12/13)

Obesity dipped slightly in U.S. adults last year, research found — the first time in more than a decade that the country has seen a downward trend. That might be due, in part, to the recent rise of blockbuster weight loss drugs like Ozempic, according to the study authors. The findings, published Friday in the journal JAMA Health Forum, showed the most significant decrease in the South, particularly among women and adults ages 66 to 75. (Chow and Syal, 12/13)

Novo Nordisk A/S’s blockbuster shot Ozempic was linked to an increased risk of a rare form of vision loss in a study that backs up Harvard University research published earlier this year. Diabetes patients who used Ozempic were more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with the rare condition, called NAION, than those who took another type of diabetes drug, according to a team of researchers who studied years of patient records from Denmark and Norway. The study wasn’t able to determine whether there was a similar impact among people taking Ozempic’s sister drug, Wegovy, for obesity. (Kresge, 12/13)

Until now, just two companies have dominated the obesity-treatment market. ... But the year will also start to show how soon the weight-loss duopoly will face serious challengers. Results from dozens of midstage patient trials of medications for obesity and related diseases are due in 2025, according to researcher Airfinity Ltd. The slew of data, from both upstarts and industry heavyweights, will help determine the options available in coming years. Drugmakers are aiming to offer medicines that can be taken less frequently, spur greater weight loss or cause fewer side effects. (Kresge, 12/13)

Seed oils — which are plant-based cooking oils that are often used in processed, packaged foods — have been linked to an increased risk of colon cancer, according to a new study published this week in the medical journal Gut. Researchers at University of South Florida (USF) Health and Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute analyzed 162 tumor samples from colon cancer patients, according to a USF press release. (Rudy, 12/13)