Treatment for Obesity and Inflammation, but at what Cost?

RheumThoughts: Treatment for Obesity and Inflammation, but at what Cost?

Jonathan Kay, MD

Sep 29, 2026 7:51 am

The costs of GLP-1 agonists must come down in order to make these treatments available to the people who need them - including many people with rheumatologic diseases.

Article

Osteoarthritis, Obesity and GLP-1s

Tom Appleton, MD, PhD Sep 8, 2026

We all know that osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis in the world, and that obesity is its most modifiable risk factor. What I really want to focus on is the role that GLP-! receptor agonists might be playing in our management of osteoarthritis. So why does this matter?

Podcast

The Four Pillars of Weight Loss Part 3

RheumNow Sep 26, 2026

Dr. Catherine Bakewell 'Pharmacologic Treatment of Obesity': https://youtu.be/K8o0ZnqySZA Dr. Larissa McGarrity 'Psychology of Health Behavior Change in Obesity': https://youtu.be/v-rGrpjqh24 Dr. Elena Philippou 'Nutrition, Weight Management and Rheumatic Disease': https://youtu.be/2EOpgsS-EfA

Article

Bariatric Surgery in the Era of GLP-1RA

Satya Dash, MD Sep 14, 2026

Weight loss with lifestyle changes alone is difficult to sustain for most people. One reason for this is the weight loss associated endocrine milieu, which can decrease energy expenditure and increase the drive to eat. Therefore, we frequently use medications and/or bariatric surgery.

ADD THE FIRST COMMENT

If you are a health practitioner, you may Login/Register to comment.

Due to the nature of these comment forums, only health practitioners are allowed to comment at this time.

Jonathan Kay, MD (6 Posts)

Jonathan Kay, MD, is Professor of Medicine and Population and Quantitative Health Sciences and holds the Timothy S. and Elaine L. Peterson Chair in Rheumatology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, where he directs Clinical Research in the Division of Rheumatology. His clinical appointment is as a Physician at UMass Memorial Medical Center. Dr. Kay’s clinical interests span the spectrum of rheumatic diseases, with special interest in rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthropathies, and other forms of inflammatory arthritis. Over the past three decades, his clinical research has focused on nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (formerly known as nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy), beta2 -microglobulin amyloidosis, and other rheumatologic problems of patients with chronic kidney disease. He has been a principal investigator on over 60 clinical trials of novel therapies for rheumatoid arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis, gout, and osteoarthritis. Over the past decade, he has been involved in the development of biosimilars to treat rheumatic diseases. Dr. Kay lectures internationally and is the author of more than 240 publications and book chapters.