Latest news with #hunger
SBS Australia
2 days ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
Lexi's genetic condition keeps her obese. But her family can't afford life-changing medication
Lexi's genetic disorder, which keeps her constantly hungry, has rendered her bariatric surgery ineffective. So she's hoping weight-loss drugs could help her. Source: SBS / Colin Cosier for Dateline Watch Dateline's documentary 'Born Big' on 3 June at 9.30pm on SBS or SBS On Demand. By her 12th birthday, Lexi weighed 116kg — almost three times the average weight of an American girl her age. By the time she turned 13, she had 80 per cent of her stomach removed through bariatric surgery. She initially lost 29kg . But nine months after the operation, she regained some weight, and her intense hunger returned. Lexi has MC4R gene deficiency. It disrupts the brain's ability to regulate appetite, resulting in weight gain and a constant feeling of insatiable hunger. Nearly three years after her surgery, Lexi, now 15, is exploring alternative options. "I'd like to be a size where I can go out and play sports again, like I used to when I was younger," she says. She was recently prescribed Wegovy, a weight-loss medication approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of obesity in people aged 12 and older. Wegovy belongs to the new class of injectable medications, originally used for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes but now FDA-approved for long-term weight management. These drugs — primarily semaglutide (Wegovy and Ozempic) and tirzepatide (marketed under the brand names Mounjaro and Zepbound) — mimic GLP-1 hormones that regulate blood sugar and appetite, helping patients feel fuller for longer. They have been popularised by celebrities and on social media. According to a 2024 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association , prescriptions of these drugs for teens and young adults in the United States increased by 600 per cent between 2020 and 2023 — with the overwhelming majority being teenage girls. One in five children and adolescents in the US are affected by obesity. In January 2023, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the largest professional association of paediatricians in the US, updated its guidelines for treating children with obesity — for the first time in 15 years. It now recommends early medical interventions such as surgery and weight-loss drugs, in addition to lifestyle and behaviour changes. Dr Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity medicine physician and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, says there's been "a noticeable shift in recent years in how obesity and obesity medications are discussed within the paediatric and broader medical fields". "There is growing recognition of obesity as a complex, chronic disease rather than a simple consequence of lifestyle choices," she says. "The increasing visibility and acceptance of pharmacological treatments as legitimate components of obesity management reflect this change, although stigma still exists and must be continually addressed." However, she says irreversible treatment such as bariatric surgery and indefinite use of medication at age 12 "must be approached with caution". It's important to balance the potential benefits of anti-obesity drugs against the unknown long-term effects, she says. "I advise families to consider the improvement in quality of life and reduction in obesity-related health risks as significant benefits," she says. "However, the psychological and emotional aspects, such as body image, potential dependence on medication, and identity formation, should be openly discussed." Lexi's mum Brandy was initially against injectable GLP-1 drugs. "I wanted her to be a little older," she says. Now, looking back, she says she would have started with medication rather than surgery for Lexi. "Surgery is final ... there's no reversing it," she says, adding that she believes bariatric surgery remains an essential option if other treatments fall short. Bariatric surgery usually leads to substantial weight loss, but Lexi's MC4R deficiency made her procedure far less effective. "The conversation is changing," Brandy says. "I remember the first weight loss hospital we went to, they literally just gave us a portion plate and sent us home." Now, "the availability and the options for people, it's great, [and] it needs to keep going." In April, Lexi was prescribed Wegovy. But the family has been locked in a battle with their insurance provider to secure even partial coverage for the medication's cost. Despite more weight-loss drugs hitting the market, many people in the US still can't afford them. A month's supply of Wegovy, for example, can cost approximately US$1,350 ($2,100) — that's over US$16,000 ($25,000) each year. Medicare, the federal health insurance, is prohibited from covering weight-loss drugs by law. Most private health plans don't cover them either, primarily, due to their high cost. Bariatric surgery, on the other hand, is covered by insurance companies. In April, the Trump administration rejected a Biden-era proposal to expand Medicare coverage of anti-obesity drugs such as Wegovy. However, GLP-1 drugs have become a target of a new executive order, signed by US President Donald Trump in May, aimed at lowering prescription drug prices, which are notoriously high in the US compared to other developed nations. In the meantime, Lexi has seen some progress with an oral appetite suppressant, Qsymia, to help regulate her hunger. She's lost weight and had her obesity reduced from class 3 to class 2. But the journey has been mentally draining, she says. "You just feel kind of defeated because , you're like, ' what am I supposed to do when my options run out?" Watch now
Sky News
2 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
Israel-Gaza latest: Dozens of UN food lorries 'blocked and emptied by Palestinians'; Hamas submits response to ceasefire proposal
Gaza 'hungriest place on Earth' - so why has famine not been declared? Gaza has been described as the "hungriest place on Earth" by the UN humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA). Jens Laerke told reporters in Geneva that it is the only territory in the world where the entire population is at risk of famine. As we have been reporting (see our 8.58am post) the resumption of limited aid deliveries has made little impact on hungry residents, according to the UN. Laerke said less than 600 aid trucks have been offloaded in Gaza, out of nearly 900 that were approved to enter from Israel. 'It is drip-feeding food into an area on the verge of catastrophic hunger,' he insisted. Despite the recurring warnings about a lack of food, famine has not officially been declared in Gaza. Here's why. What is famine? The leading international authority on hunger crises, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), considers an area to be in famine when three things occur: 20% of households have an extreme lack of food, or essentially are starving; At least 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition or wasting, meaning they're too thin for their height; Two adults or four children per every 10,000 people are dying daily of hunger and its complications. Why has famine not been declared in Gaza? Access to Gaza is extremely limited to experts, meaning that gathering data is extremely difficult if not impossible in some cases. Last year, the IPC said famine can be classified in an area if "reasonable evidence" of two of the three above thresholds have been reached and crossing the third appears likely to have happened. Although there is no set rule on "declaring" famine, UN officials or governments will typically make a formal announcement. Laerke from the OCHA said once IPS data shows an area has hit the threshold for a famine, it is a famine, announcement or not.
Sky News
2 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
Israel-Gaza latest: Dozens of UN food lorries 'blocked and emptied by Palestinians'
Gaza 'hungriest place on Earth' - so why has famine not been declared? Gaza has been described as the "hungriest place on Earth" by the UN humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA). Jens Laerke told reporters in Geneva that it is the only territory in the world where the entire population is at risk of famine. As we have been reporting (see our 8.58am post) the resumption of limited aid deliveries has made little impact on hungry residents, according to the UN. Laerke said less than 600 aid trucks have been offloaded in Gaza, out of nearly 900 that were approved to enter from Israel. 'It is drip-feeding food into an area on the verge of catastrophic hunger,' he insisted. Despite the recurring warnings about a lack of food, famine has not officially been declared in Gaza. Here's why. What is famine? The leading international authority on hunger crises, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), considers an area to be in famine when three things occur: 20% of households have an extreme lack of food, or essentially are starving; At least 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition or wasting, meaning they're too thin for their height; Two adults or four children per every 10,000 people are dying daily of hunger and its complications. Why has famine not been declared in Gaza? Access to Gaza is extremely limited to experts, meaning that gathering data is extremely difficult if not impossible in some cases. Last year, the IPC said famine can be classified in an area if "reasonable evidence" of two of the three above thresholds have been reached and crossing the third appears likely to have happened. Although there is no set rule on "declaring" famine, UN officials or governments will typically make a formal announcement. Laerke from the OCHA said once IPS data shows an area has hit the threshold for a famine, it is a famine, announcement or not.
Sky News
2 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
Israel-Gaza latest: Israel blocks meeting over independent Palestinian state
Gaza 'hungriest place on Earth' - so why has famine not been declared? Gaa has been described as the "hungriest place on Earth" by the UN humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA). Jens Laerke told reporters in Geneva that it is the only territory in the world where the entire population is at risk of famine. As we have been reporting (see our 8.58am post) the resumption of limited aid deliveries has made little impact on hungry residents, according to the UN. Mr Laerke said less than 600 aid trucks have been offloaded in Gaza, out of nearly 900 that were approved to enter from Israel. 'It is drip-feeding food into an area on the verge of catastrophic hunger,' he insisted. Despite the recurring warnings about a lack of food, famine has not officially been declared in Gaza. Here's why. What is famine? The leading international authority on hunger crises, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), considers an area to be in famine when three things occur: 20% of households have an extreme lack of food, or essentially are starving; At least 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition or wasting, meaning they're too thin for their height; Two adults or four children per every 10,000 people are dying daily of hunger and its complications. Why has famine not been declared in Gaza? Access to Gaza is extremely limited to experts, meaning that gathering data is extremely difficult if not impossible in some cases. Last year, the IPC said famine can be classified in an area if "reasonable evidence" of two of the three above thresholds have been reached and crossing the third appears likely to have happened. Although there is no set rule on "declaring" famine, UN officials or governments will typically make a formal announcement. Mr Laerke from the OCHA said once IPS data shows an area has hit the threshold for a famine, it is a famine, announcement or not.
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
UN says famine stalks all in Gaza; Israel shoots, wounds aid seekers
Gaza is the 'hungriest place on Earth', the United Nations has said, as Israel continues to block all but a trickle of humanitarian aid from entering the Strip, where famine stalks the entire Palestinian population, and the Israeli military relentlessly bombs the besieged enclave. Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said on Friday that 100 percent of the 2.3-million population of Gaza is now on the verge of 'catastrophic hunger'. The 'limited number of truckloads coming in [Gaza] is a trickle – it's drip-feeding food,' Laerk said. 'The aid operation that we have ready to roll is being put in an operational straitjacket that makes it one of the most obstructed aid operations not only in the world today, but in recent history', he added. What paucity of aid is entering the enclave is under the control of a new, shadowy NGO backed by Israel and the United States – the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). On Friday, sources at Gaza hospitals told Al Jazeera that 20 people were shot by Israeli troops as they desperately tried to get food at a GHF aid distribution point. That distribution site, located near Israel's Netzarim Corridor bisecting the territory, is the third to have been set up, after two distribution points were established in the southern city of Rafah. Armed surveillance is administered around the clock. 'People are telling us that the sites managed and operated by the GHF are metres away from where the Israeli military is stationed. They can see the tanks, they can see the armoured vehicles,' said Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City. Ten people were killed earlier this week trying to access food distribution points, and images showed many being herded into cage-like lines. Palestinians desperately trying to get hold of any aid must risk Israeli fire and military forces. 'There are also reports of enforced disappearances. A lot of families reported that many of their children, of their family members, who went to the sites … have gone missing as they were trying to get food,' Mahmoud said. The aid delivery scheme has been roundly condemned by UN officials and the humanitarian community, who have accused the group of aiding Israel's war objectives by forcibly displacing Palestinians under the guise of aid. Critics maintain that the currently inadequate aid could be safely scaled up in Gaza, if Israel would allow access to aid and let the organisations that have decades of experience handle the flow. 'Through this dangerous and reckless approach, food is not being distributed where it's needed most but is instead directed only to areas where Israeli forces choose to amass civilians,' said Doctors Without Borders Secretary-General Christopher Lockyear. 'This means the most vulnerable – especially the elderly and people with disabilities – have virtually no chance of accessing the food they desperately need.' Famine is declared in an area where at least 20 percent of households face an extreme lack of food. At famine levels of deprivation, 30 percent of children suffer from acute malnutrition, and at least four children in every 10,000 die each day from starvation or malnutrition-linked disease. OCHA said at least 1 in 5 people in Gaza is currently facing starvation. Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, says it's 'safe to safe to say there is famine' in Gaza. Fakhri told Al Jazeera that Israel is using aid 'as bait to corral people' and push them out of the north and into militarised zones'. The humanitarian situation in Gaza was already catastrophic when Israel imposed a total blockade on March 2, causing conditions to deteriorate even further. After growing international pressure, Israeli authorities said they would allow minimal supplies of food and medicine into the Strip, but critical supplies are still not reaching the people. The chorus of condemnation against Israel was underscored by France's President Emmanuel Macron on Friday. The French leader warned that Paris could 'apply sanctions' unless the Israeli government responds to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Speaking during a visit to Singapore on Friday, Macron said the international community could not remain passive while Palestinians in Gaza face a deepening hunger crisis that is 'untenable'. 'If there is no response in the coming hours and days in line with the humanitarian situation, we will have to harden our collective position,' he added, suggesting that France may consider applying sanctions against Israeli settlers. At least 30 people have been killed since dawn on Friday in attacks in southern Deir el-Balah, northern Jabalia and on eastern Khan Younis. The Israeli army has also been expanding its military operation on the ground, issuing new forced displacement orders for five areas in northern Gaza. According to a UN spokesperson, nearly 200,000 people have been displaced in Gaza in the last two weeks by Israel's displacement orders. Meanwhile, hopes for an elusive truce remained unrealised. Hamas said on Friday it is currently reviewing a new US ceasefire proposal that Washington says has been signed off on by Israel, but that in its current form will only result in 'the continuation of killing and famine' in Gaza. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that Israel had 'signed off' on the ceasefire proposal, and the Trump administration's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, had submitted it to Hamas for consideration. Trump said he believes his administration will have an announcement later on Friday, 'or maybe tomorrow'. 'We have a chance of that,' he told reporters from the Oval Office. The details of the new proposal have not been made public, but senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told the news agency Reuters that, crucially, it did not contain commitments from Israel to end its war on Gaza, withdraw from the enclave, or allow aid to freely enter the war-torn territory.
