Noom Med: A Smarter Approach to Obesity Care

Breakthrough GLP-1s have revolutionized the treatment landscape for obesity management. As demand for these medications surges, employers face a tough dilemma in quickly understanding: 1) the benefits of anti-obesity medication, 2) who should qualify, and 3) the best approach to avoid unnecessary utilization through alternative treatments and prescriptions. 

By combining the biology of evidence-based obesity care with the psychology of our award-winning behavior change program, we created Noom Med, our first clinical offering. This holistic healthcare program is designed to help people overcome the biological barriers to achieve sustained weight loss while lowering employer costs. 

As Chief of Medicine at Noom, Dr. Linda Anegawa, described, “Even without ever writing a prescription, we know from substantial data that working with a clinician makes weight loss interventions far more likely to succeed long-term.” Which speaks to the central goal of Noom Med–not to be a means of distributing GLP-1s to all comers, but instead, a means of providing personalized, comprehensive evaluation en route to more effective treatment of obesity.

People who have a BMI of 30 or higher, or greater than or equal to 27 with a weight-related medical condition, may qualify for Noom Med. All patients interested in seeking this option receive a health evaluation by a board-certified physician or a physician-supervised nurse practitioner. If approved, our team will do an in-depth evaluation to design a custom care plan completely unique to the patient’s life and health needs. 

As Dr. Anegawa says of the initial evaluation process, “In our clinical program, we’ve got an initial evaluation process composed of a medical intake, comprehensive blood testing, and clinical consultation. While the patient is understanding their metabolic needs, they are also beginning to put the behavioral pieces of the puzzle in place.”

Once a patient is set up with the program, they can access one-on-one video coaching and medical monitoring for safety, self-tracking tools, and a psychology-based digital curriculum, all to empower lasting behavior change and reduce long-term medication use. Throughout the process, patients will share results of lab testing to track improvements in metabolic health. 

With the ability to reduce unnecessary GLP-1 use with the ability to use our curriculum to off-ramp medication, we expect to see the following trends continue with Noom Med:

• 45% of patients will never be issued a GLP-1¹
• 6x more weight loss achieved at 12 months by pairing Noom’s behavior change with Saxenda versus Saxenda alone²
• 3.1x ROI by investing in Noom versus GLP-1s without cost control³

While GLP-1s have offered incredible progress in obesity care, medication alone isn’t enough to sustain weight loss. Our comprehensive platform anchors clinical care with behavior change to target 80% of GLP-1 users to ramp off medication and maintain the weight loss achieved after medication, based on internal data and projections. 

As Dr. Anegawa summarizes, “Weight maintenance is entirely possible – but it’s important to realize that the drug alone cannot drive this, which is why current data shows weight regain once stopping a GLP-1. Only sustained Lifestyle changes will drive long term improvements in the brain’s craving pathways, plus the insulin resistance that comes with combined use of GLP-1s and behavioral interventions. Together, these can literally rewire the brain over time.”

Help your employees start leading healthier lives and lower healthcare costs for your organization with Noom Med. Download the Noom Med sell sheet to learn more.

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¹ Noom internal ROI analysis.

² Feasibility Assessment of Weight Loss Outcomes of Saxenda Users vs. Non-Users Enrolled in the Noom Program, 2018–2021.

³ Noom internal ROI analysis.