New generation of weight loss medications offer promise — but at a price

Excitement is building about a new generation of drugs that tout the ability to help adults with excess weight shed more pounds than older drugs on the market.

Some patients, obesity medicine specialists say, are experiencing decreases in blood pressure, better-managed diabetes, less joint pain, and better sleep from these newfound treatments.

The newer drugs, which are repurposed diabetes drugs, "are showing weight loss unlike any other medications we've had in the past," said David Creel, a psychologist and registered dietitian in the Bariatric & Metabolic Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.