10% Weight Loss could save Medicare $35
Billion...Findings presented at 6th Annual
Obesity and Wellness Congress
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Sept. 22,
2011 /PRNewswire/ -- VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ:
VVUS) reported that in the opening keynote
address at the 6th Annual Obesity and
Wellness Congress in Washington DC today,Kenneth
E. Thorpe, PhD stated that 10% weight loss
in patients age 60 to 64 may be able to
provide Medicare savings of $8 billion over
ten years and $35 billion over their
lifetime.
The meeting included Chief Medical Officers
of Health Plans, Payers, Health Systems and
Hospitals as well as large Employers'
Benefits and Wellness Directors. Topics
included public policy and the obesity
epidemic, preventive programs, and how
medical weight loss leads to a reversal of
chronic conditions and savings for
stakeholders.
Dr. Thorpe is a professor and Chair of
health policy and management at the Emory
Rollins School of Public Health. He also
serves as Executive Director of the
Partnership to Fight Chronic Diseases and as
a consultant to VIVUS.
Dr. Thorpe's most recent publication in
the September 8th issue of Health Affairs reflected
the finding that the U.S. government could
save billions of dollars over the lifetimes
of Medicare enrollees by investing in weight
loss methods to help prevent diabetes or
heart disease.
Dr. Thorpe said that many of the
government's current approaches to weight
loss are not addressing the present obesity
epidemic that is responsible for the rising
rates of diabetes, hypertension and
dyslipdemia. Dr. Thorpe explained that
emerging obesity treatment options could
potentially reduce the medical costs
associated with obesity and related
co-morbidities.
Many overweight and obese adults are
pre-diabetic (which occurs when blood
glucose levels are higher than normal but
not yet high enough to be diagnosed as type
2 diabetes), have hypertension or high
cholesterol. These people face a higher
risk of suffering from heart disease in the
future.
Dr. Thorpe said, "Medical treatments
producing a 10% weight loss in patients with
existing co-morbidities could be extremely
useful in generating Medicare savings in the
billions. Obesity is a national epidemic
with few useful treatment options. I am
hopeful that new therapies will continue to
be developed at a time when members of
Congress are looking for Medicare spend
reductions with aging baby boomers."
