A Weight-centric Approach to Obesity with T2D: How Pharmacotherapy Works

The patient with overweight or obesity and some level of dysglycemia is a patient seen daily in primary care practice.

The traditional approach to the patient with obesity and a modestly elevated A1c is to advise lifestyle modifications first, followed by a prescription for metformin. The patient with obesity who is diagnosed with more advanced type 2 diabetes (T2D) may be started on double or even triple drug therapy and typically advanced to basal insulin, with additional prandial insulin the next step.

Patient Care Online recently spoke with obesity specialist Silvana Pannain, MD, about her approach to care for this rapidly expanding patient population. In this video, Dr Pannain talks about a weight-centric approach to T2D management and an insulin-sparing regimen now gaining favor. She spoke on both topics today at the Obesity Medicine Association's 2021 Annual Spring Summit.

Silvana Pannain, MD, is associate professor of medicine in the section of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at University of Chicago Medicine and director of Chicago Weight, an interdisciplinary weight loss program and support group at the University of Chicago.