We have a drug to reduce obesity and associated illness, and the leader of MAHA just isn’t into it.

The New York Times ran an article the other day on the clash between Robert Kennedy Jr. and Elon Musk over Ozempic and similar so-called GLP-1 drugs that help people lose weight; seeing dark forces at work, RFK Jr. is highly suspicious, and seeing revolutionary technological progress, Elon Musk is in favor.

For many U.S. parents seeking help for a child with obesity, the most widely-endorsed treatment is out of reach - and it's not the popular weight-loss drug Wegovy.

Leading medical groups recommend intensive behavioral counseling - 26 hours within one year - to teach children and their families practical ways to eat healthier and move more.

A small but rapidly growing number of U.S. adolescents began treatment with Novo Nordisk's <NOVOb.CO> weight-loss drug Wegovy last year, a powerful new tool to address record rates of pediatric obesity, according to data shared exclusively with Reuters.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned Wednesday that an online weight loss supplement labeled “tejocote root” was found to be substituted with a toxic plant.

The FDA tested nine samples labeled as tejocote, some sold on popular sites like Amazon and Etsy, and found them to contain yellow oleander, a poisonous plant native to Mexico and Central America.

Southwest Airlines is going viral for their company-wide “Customer of Size” policy, which allows overweight travelers to potentially get extra seats for free if they don’t fit.

The policy states that customers who “encroach upon any part of the neighboring seat(s)” may purchase however many extra seats they need. Those passengers can then request a refund after travel, according to their website.

Drugmaker Novo Nordisk paid U.S. medical professionals at least $25.8 million over a decade in fees and expenses related to its weight-loss drugs, a Reuters analysis found. It concentrated that money on an elite group of obesity specialists who advocate giving its powerful and expensive drugs to tens of millions of Americans.

A wild idea recently circulated about the future of aviation: If passengers lose weight via obesity drugs, airlines could potentially cut down on fuel costs. In September, analysts at Jefferies Bank estimated that in the “slimmer society” obesity drugs will create, United Airlines could save up to $80 million in jet fuel annually.

Two years and more than a million prescriptions after Wegovy first went on sale, there’s one taboo question for some doctors who prescribe the hit obesity drug: When can patients stop taking it?

The new medicine by Novo Nordisk A/S and others in the same class can melt away pounds that diet and exercise don’t budge. But it doesn’t change the underlying issues that drive metabolism, leaving newly lean people wondering whether they will need to bear the expense and the side effects of the drugs for decades or risk relapse.

Ozempic and similar drugs are transforming the world’s understanding of obesity. It isn’t so much about willpower: It’s about biology. 

The success of the powerful new class of diabetes and weight-loss drugs shows how important chemistry is to determining a person’s weight. The brain is the body’s chief chemist, regulating appetite and making it difficult for many people to shed pounds and keep them off. The brain determines how much fat it wants people to carry, according to years of research bolstered by the new drugs. 

More than 40 percent of Americans are obese, and two-thirds are overweight. It’s time for leaders to address the problem.

The United States military has a big problem -- it has failed to meet its targets for recruiting new soldiers for several years. In the Army’s own words, this is the “most challenging labor market since the inception of the all-volunteer force.” This chilling news comes at the same time America faces growing challenges abroad, including the rising threat of war with China and ongoing security concerns over Russia’s war against Ukraine.