For the first time in a decade, adult obesity in the United States dropped last year, according to a new study and researchers are continuing to determine the role that the dramatic rise in popularity of weight loss drugs, like Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound, has to do with that trend.  Before 2023, between 2013-2022, obesity numbers were on an uphill trajectory.  They plateaued in 2022 before taking a slight dip south.  It’s all good news considering the fact that obesity puts individuals at risk for heart disease and is often associated with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.  Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity medicine specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, has a deep understanding of the causes and effects of obesity and the impact these anti-obesity medications are having on patients. She shares her knowledge regarding the GLP-1, or glucagon-like peptide-1, receptor agonists, first used to treat diabetes, which now are the same drugs approved for people with obesity, as well as others that are now being prescribed to many in our society whose weight issues have a profound impact on their overall health.