Medications:

There are several types of medications that can be used for weight loss. 

There are medications that prevent absorption of food.
There are medications that increase metabolic rate
There are newer medications such as Ozempic that affect the gut and sense of hunger.

With the newer medications, people can often lose about 10-15% of their body weight. That would be approximately 30 lbs for someone who weighs 200 lbs.

 

Medications vs surgery

There are generally 2 types of surgeries that can help with weight loss.
Liposuction which literally means surgical removal of fat. There are also gut surgeries that reduce the absoprtion of food from the stomach and intestine. These include gastric banding or gastric bypass surgery which is permanent. These procedures are invasive, come with their own risks and some are irreversible. 
 

Monitoring

 

Nothing is 100% safe. There are risks with anything, including taking medications. But they are risks to doing nothing as well if you are overweight or obese. The question for any person is which path has the highest benefits and least risks.

A lot of people have been started on mediations such as Ozempic for weight loss. But they are not being monitored for potential complications and side effects and they are not getting the appropriate advice to make the medication work most effectively.