GLP-1 Plus Lifestyle for Overall Wellness: Find Your Way Forward

The premise underpinning our proposed project stems from the conceptual framework that obesity medications beneficially alter the underlying pathophysiology that largely drives eating behaviors (appetite, satiety, cravings, and "food noise"), thereby lessening the need for high doses of HBLT. In this way, medications can unburden adolescents living with obesity, their caregivers, healthcare providers, health systems, and payors from the need to engage in and provide intensive HBLT. This framework has directly informed our research strategy and methodological approach, including the design of our trial and the variables we have chosen to assess. Indeed, we plan to compare three different doses of HBLT in terms of their ability to improve health-related outcomes while having a keen eye on nutritional safety and eating disorders. The design and patient-centered outcomes for our trial have been carefully and thoughtfully crafted to provide evidence-based clarity on critical decisional dilemmas regarding how much HBLT is needed to get the most out of obesity pharmacotherapy and how social determinants of health (SDOH) factors can help guide treatment strategies to maximize effectiveness and safety.