“The people I see in clinic, they care about getting out of a chair, playing with their grandchildren, not being admitted into a nursing home,” says Dr. John Batsis. So when working with older adults with obesity, he considers various factors. And his motto on GLP-1 weight-loss drugs is, “Start low, and go slow.”
In a recent AAMC article, Dr. Batsis says, “We don’t have data to be able to back up what we’re doing clinically. As clinicians, we like solid evidence-based [interventions].” But even as wants more data on long-term outcomes and safety of GLP-1 medications on older adults, Dr. Batsis says he is less skeptical than before.
“Four or five years ago I was saying, ‘What are we doing?’ [But now I realize] there are patients who would benefit from these medications.” So even though Dr. Batsis advises clinicians to prescribe GLP-1s with caution, he also emphasizes that they can be promising. Especially when prescribed alongside lifestyle interventions like physical therapy, strength training, and good nutrition.
Dr. John Batsis’ academic work focuses on the relationships between obesity and sarcopenia in older adults, developing multicomponent interventions (diet and exercise), and using novel technologies to improve the health and well-being of older adults.