Dr. Florencia Ziemke is a double-board certified medical doctor with nearly two decades of clinical and research experience in the field of Obesity & Nutrition Medicine. She has worked at top national centers including Boston Medical Center and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center here in Boston, with affiliations at Boston University, Tufts Medical School, and Harvard Medical School. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and a diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. She is the current Vice President of the Florida Obesity Society; serves on the Network Advisory Committee of The Obesity Society, the Editorial Board of Obesity Pillars, and is a Scientific Medical Associate for Obesity Matters. Dr. Ziemke joins us for an Expert Q&A.
Q: Obesity and Diabetes are considered the Dual Epidemics. Can you define our current
Health Crisis?
Dr. Ziemke: The prevalence of Obesity and Diabetes have been consistently increasing worldwide. Overweight and Obesity after nearly 80% of our US population. Globally, obesity is more common that starvation.
Obesity is the leading risk factor for Diabetes, and Obesity is the 2nd leading cause of preventable death in US, and 5th leading cause of mortality and morbidity globally.
Obesity is the root cause of over 200 medical conditions (high blood pressure, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, arthritis, etc.) including 13 types of cancer (for example, breast, prostate, colon, liver, multiple myeloma).
Weight loss can help reduce and prevent complications and reverse health issues including diabetes. This is a CALL TO ACTION.
Numbers are alarming. But most striking is that If nothing changes, by 2030, nearly 2 billion people around the world will be living with Obesity. That means 1 in every 4.
Q: Ozempic is everywhere for weight loss. Can you describe the medication, its’ benefits and challenges?
Dr. Ziemke: This medication belongs to a class of drugs collectively known as GLP1s, that are FDA approved for the chronic treatment of Obesity and Diabetes.
For reference, brand names you might be familiar with include Wegovy ® (semaglutide), Ozempic ® (semaglutide), Zepbound ® (tirzepatide) and Mounjaro ® (tirzepatide).
These medications mimic the e]ect of naturally occurring hormones produced by our gut that are heavily involved with appetite regulation.
They are a potent tool within our toolbox to be used in the clinical management of persons living with obesity and/or diabetes.
Their use shows double digit percent weight loss, plus also health improvements beyond the number on the scale such as blood pressure, cholesterol and waist
circumference reduction. When it comes to percent weight loss, to help put things into context, we know that 5% of body weight reduction mitigates the development of diabetes by 50%+.
These medications are revolutionizing our approach to sustained weight loss and improvement of health.
Q: What are some of the side effects of GLP1 medications?
Dr. Ziemke: The most commonly reported side e]ects are gastrointestinal related, namely nausea, vomiting, and constipation. Nausea can occur in 15-30% of persons. Typically seen at start or dose increase and traditionally can get better over time.
The challenge is that nausea is an unpleasant experience, subjectively described as an “uneasy sickness to the stomach” that can disrupt quality of life, sometimes leading to discontinuation of medication.
Current recommendations for nausea treatment related to GLP1 medication includes Short-term use of anti-nausea medication, adjusting the dose of the GLP1 medication, and dietary changes: such as reducing the meal size, stopping to eat when feeling full, avoiding high-fat or spicy foods and moderating alcohol consumption.
Q: How you have been evaluating Sea-Band in your practice?
Dr. Ziemke: Nausea is an established side effect of GLP1 medications, which I see in clinical practice. Prescription anti-nausea medication can present a challenge with drug interactions if a person is on other medications, and these medications are also not side effect free; and dietary changes alone may not be sufficient to tame the symptom.
“As a clinician I emphasize that Obesity is a disease. It is Complex. Relapsing. Chronic. And Treatable. I recognize the complexity of disease management, the dramatic health benefits of the use of GLP1 medications, but also how Disrupting nausea can become in a patient’s day to day life.” ~ Dr.Florencia Ziemke
After learning about Sea-Band’s scientific track record of established nausea relief based on placebo controlled clinical trials, I became interested in evaluating Sea-Band’s use in persons taking GLP1 medications experiencing nausea. We’ve observed very positive results which I will be presenting at ObesityWeek in November this year. ObesityWeek is an annual international scientific conference hosted by The Obesity Society conference; this year it will be San Antonio Texas.
Q: This sounds exciting. Can you share some highlights of the results?
Dr. Ziemke: Results of the analysis show nausea relief as early as the one week follow up. Nausea relief occurred mostly in under 5 minutes of applying Sea-Band wristbands, which is consistent with their use seen for other approved indications.
Results of this pragmatic intervention suggest that Sea-Band provides a safe, easy to use, drug-free, and practically side-e]ect free, answer. Participant feedback highlighted that Sea-Band is convenient as a portable, wearable device that can be used ad libitum to improve nausea.
Further investigations, including the use of our app for accurate tracking of symptoms are currently ongoing. I am excited to share another possible tool that can complement comprehensive care, and most importantly, improve the well-being of our patients.