Glucagon-like polypeptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists are a class of medications aimed at treating type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity. Both of these conditions are chronic diseases that can cause other health complications and decreased quality of life. Unfortunately, both diabetes and obesity are very common.

For example, diabetes affects as many as 38.4 million people, which amounts to roughly 11.6% of the US population. Diabetes impacts the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar levels. With type 2 diabetes in particular, the body doesn’t make enough insulin or doesn’t use insulin correctly, resulting in uncontrolled blood sugar levels. When left untreated, diabetes can cause issues like kidney disease, vision disability, nerve problems, and more (1). 

Obesity, on the other hand, affects as many as 42% of adults (2). Obesity itself can lead to type 2 diabetes and a slew of other comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease (e.g., stroke and heart disease), musculoskeletal disorders (e.g., osteoarthritis), and certain cancers (3).

Because of the seriousness of both diabetes and obesity, the recent development of novel GLP-1 therapies has provided a new path forward for individuals struggling with these conditions. GLP-1s are highly effective in managing blood sugar levels and promoting weight loss, but weight management shouldn’t stop there.

Measuring beyond weight

While weight loss is a common goal with GLP-1 treatment, the number on the scale is not the only thing we should look at when it comes to weight management. As aforementioned, comorbidities are incredibly common with obesity, including conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular disease. Thus, we need to be monitoring other health indicators aside from just weight.

In addition to monitoring weight, it is important to also measure vital signs and body composition. These measurements help characterize someone’s progress and understand how both weight loss and weight gain affect the whole body. For example, measuring someone’s blood pressure throughout their journey could inform on how their weight loss is lowering their risk for cardiovascular complications.

Although these other indicators are important, they aren’t always collected continuously or routinely. If patients are treated in online weight loss clinics, they won’t have access to the regular monitoring they need.

 

Value of remote, AI- and video-based monitoring for care providers

We know these other health indicators are important, but they aren’t necessarily easy to collect on a routine basis. So, what can we do? The answer is AI- and video-based health monitoring for care providers.

AI-powered remote health monitoring lets you gather key health metrics instantly, continuously, and from afar. With a simple video scan on the smartphone, care providers can get instantaneous access to health indicators like body composition, blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac workload, and stress index. This can be instrumental to facilitating someone’s weight loss goals, as you’re able to measure health indicators beyond just weight in real-time. The benefits of this include:

  • Supports long-term engagement and adherence. With AI-powered health monitoring, there is no need to go through the inconvenience of an in-person checkup. All this can be done remotely, meaning that is convenient for both patients and providers. As such, patients can be more engaged in their health, likely increasing adherence to their treatment plans. 
  • Enables preventive interventions. One of the best ways to manage disease is to prevent it altogether. Unfortunately, healthcare is often inaccessible, which causes delays in diagnosis and treatment. AI-based health monitoring allows us to get health insights in real-time without the need for a doctor’s visit, thus enabling us to identify disease and intervene early. This means we may be able to slow the progression of disease or avoid it completely.
  • Helps quantify progress beyond weight. As we mentioned, there is far more to weight management than just the number on the scale. Things like body composition, blood pressure, and heart rate are all key indicators of progress and overall health. Remote AI monitoring allows you to garner these insights to better understand your progress. 

Long-term success

It’s no secret that GLP-1s help regulate appetite and glycemic control to promote weight loss. However, weight regain is common after stopping GLP-1s. One study evaluated the risk of weight regain after stopping therapy with semaglutide, a popular GLP-1. Results indicated that a year after stopping treatment, patients regained roughly two-thirds of their previous weight loss. Additionally, other cardiometabolic improvements reverted back towards baseline (4). 

These results show that weight loss can’t start and end with GLP-1 therapy. Lasting success with weight and metabolic health will depend heavily on someone’s behavior, environment, and mindset. For example, stress and recovery will play an important role in the durability of weight loss by impacting:

  • Long-term weight stability. Chronic stress can cause hormone disturbances, particularly in hormones like cortisol. High cortisol levels promote fat storage and metabolic dysfunction over time.
  • Risk of relapse weight gain. Increased stress and poor recovery can increase cravings, impair insulin sensitivity, and increase the likelihood of weight regain.
  • Adherence to health routines. Inadequate recovery and stress can make it difficult to stick to exercise regimens, dietary goals, and medication adherence.

A scale won’t be able to measure stress and recovery, but AI-powered monitoring can. It does so by tracking:

  • Stress index. Remote AI health monitoring can estimate someone’s stress index through evaluating indicators like heart rate variability, resting heart rate, and more.
  • Heart rate variability. Heart rate variability is a marker of recovery and nervous system balance.
  • Resting heart rate or breathing patterns. These health insights can reflect physical or emotional strain that someone is experiencing, which can impact weight loss.

Wrap up

Traditional weight management centers solely around the scale, weight measurements, and medications like GLP-1s. However, in order to experience sustainable weight loss, we need to take a more holistic approach and consider how factors such as stress and recovery impact progress. In order to do so, we can utilize AI health monitoring to gather key health insights that can better inform weight management.