The company WeightWatchers recently announced it would buy a health company whose providers prescribe drugs for weight loss.
WeightWatchers 公司最近宣布将收购一家健康公司，该公司的供应商会开出减肥药。
 
However, some experts worry about the use of drugs for weight loss. They argue the treatment does not include enough monitoring for side effects among patients.
然而，一些专家担心使用药物减肥。他们争辩说，治疗没有包括对患者副作用的足够监测。
 
WeightWatchers is a company that sells products and services to help people use exercise and diet to lose weight. But recently, the company said it would purchase Sequence, a telehealth company.
WeightWatchers 是一家销售产品和服务以帮助人们通过运动和饮食来减肥的公司。但最近，该公司表示将收购远程医疗公司 Sequence。
 
The deal is valued at $132 million dollars. It is the latest business deal in the market for prescription weight loss drugs. For example, famous people have supported the use of the diabetes drug Ozempic as a weight loss drug. But the drug has not been approved for that use by the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. High demand for the drug has resulted in shortages.
该交易价值 1.32 亿美元。这是市场上处方减肥药的最新交易。例如，名人支持使用糖尿病药物 Ozempic 作为减肥药。但该药物尚未获得美国食品和药物管理局 (FDA) 的批准用于该用途。对这种药物的高需求导致了短缺。
 
WeightWatchers has 3.5 million members who pay for its services. With Sequence, WeightWatchers can provide members with more than just food and exercise planning services. It can offer medication.
WeightWatchers 拥有 350 万付费会员。通过 Sequence，WeightWatchers 可以为会员提供的不仅仅是食物和锻炼计划服务。它可以提供药物。
 
Experts on extreme overweight, also called obesity, say the drugs will revolutionize treatment for a problem that 42 percent of Americans face.
极度超重（也称为肥胖）专家表示，这些药物将彻底改变 42% 的美国人面临的问题的治疗方法。
 
What are the new diet drugs?
新的减肥药有哪些？
 
The drugs that are getting a lot of attention are a class of medications called GLP-1 agonists. Two of the most popular drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy, are different versions of the same drug, semaglutide.
受到广泛关注的药物是一类称为 GLP-1 激动剂的药物。两种最流行的药物 Ozempic 和 Wegovy 是同一种药物 semaglutide 的不同版本。
 
Ozempic has been in use for about six years to treat type 2 diabetes. It was approved as a treatment for diabetes. But, once a drug is approved, it can be prescribed for other uses. Increasingly, doctors are prescribing Ozempic for weight loss.
Ozempic 已用于治疗 2 型糖尿病约六年。它被批准用于治疗糖尿病。但是，一旦药物获得批准，就可以开出其他用途的处方。越来越多的医生开 Ozempic 来减肥。
 
Wegovy was approved in 2021 to treat obesity in adults and children older than 11. There are several similar drugs on the market.
Wegovy 于 2021 年获批用于治疗成人和 11 岁以上儿童的肥胖症。市场上有几种类似的药物。
 
Most of these drugs require weekly injections. The manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, said that supply problems have eased.
大多数这些药物需要每周注射一次。制造商诺和诺德表示，供应问题已经缓解。
 
How do the drugs work?
药物是如何起作用的？
 
The drugs activate the release of the hormone insulin and block sugar production in the body organ called the liver. The medicine also suppresses the natural desire to eat.
这些药物会激活激素胰岛素的释放，并阻止称为肝脏的身体器官产生糖分。该药还可以抑制自然的食欲。
 
A newer drug called tirzepatide, copies the action of two hormones and is said to be even more effective. Eli Lilly and Co. sells the drug under the name Mounjaro. It is approved for diabetes treatment and the FDA is considering it for obesity.
一种名为 tirzepatide 的新型药物复制了两种激素的作用，据说更有效。 Eli Lilly and Co. 以 Mounjaro 的名义销售这种药物。它被批准用于糖尿病治疗，FDA 正在考虑将其用于肥胖症。
 
How effective are the drugs?
药物的效果如何？
 
In medical tests, obese adults who received Wegovy had a mean weight loss of about 15 percent of their body weight. Young people who took the drug lost a similar amount.
在医学测试中，接受 Wegovy 治疗的肥胖成年人平均体重减轻了约 15%。服用这种药物的年轻人失去了类似的数量。
 
Mounjaro is still being tested. The Associated Press reports that different doses resulted in 15 to 21 percent of body weight being lost. That compared to three percent for people who received no drug at all but thought they were receiving one.
Mounjaro 仍在测试中。美联社报道称，不同的剂量导致 15% 到 21% 的体重减轻。相比之下，那些根本没有接受药物但认为自己正在接受药物的人只有 3%。
 
Dr. Louis Aronne is director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Center in Weill Cornell Medicine based in New York City. He said a usual weight loss program involving exercise and diet will result in one third of the group losing five percent or more of body weight.
Louis Aronne 博士是位于纽约市的 Weill Cornell Medicine 综合体重控制中心的主任。他说，一项涉及运动和饮食的常规减肥计划将导致三分之一的人体重减轻 5% 或更多。
 
Aronne said most people find it difficult to lose weight because of reactions to eating less. Several hormones start to take effect in people who are eating less than they normally do. "There is a real physical phenomenon," he said, that causes the body to resist losing weight.
Aronne 说，由于少吃的反应，大多数人发现很难减肥。几种激素开始对那些比平时少吃的人产生影响。 “有一种真实的物理现象，”他说，导致身体抗拒减肥。
 
Drugs usually have side effects, however. The most common are problems with digestion, causing stomach pain and vomiting. Other possible side effects include tumors, cancer and swelling of organs like the pancreas, kidneys, gall bladder and eye problems. People with a family history of some cancers or genetic problems with the endocrine system should not take such drugs.
然而，药物通常有副作用。最常见的是消化问题，导致胃痛和呕吐。其他可能的副作用包括肿瘤、癌症和器官肿胀，如胰腺、肾脏、胆囊和眼睛问题。有某些癌症家族史或内分泌系统遗传问题的人不应服用此类药物。
 
Dr. Amy Rothberg is a hormone specialist at the University of Michigan. She directs an online weight control and diabetes program. She said drugs can be a part of an effort involving several weight loss methods.
Amy Rothberg 博士是密歇根大学的荷尔蒙专家。她负责一个在线体重控制和糖尿病项目。她说，药物可以成为涉及多种减肥方法的努力的一部分。
 
But Rothberg said it is important that WeightWatchers aims to monitor patients to make sure the drugs are taken correctly and to watch for side effects.
但 Rothberg 表示，WeightWatchers 的目标是监测患者以确保正确服用药物并观察副作用，这一点很重要。