In an effort to try and help Audrain County residents navigate the myriad of the new GLP-1 and other FDA-approved weight-loss medications, the Audrain County Health Department will hold an informational meeting the evening of Wednesday, April 29. The meeting will take place from 6-7 p.m. at the health department in Mexico.

The GLP-1 medications, originally designed to help those afflicted with diabetes and similar diseases, were found to have the side benefit of helping a person possibly lose 10 to even 20-percent of their total body weight. Traditional weight-loss medications usually only may support five to seven-percent.

“ACHD Medical Director Dr. Alex Finck will be presenting the seminar to help answer questions residents may have about the drugs and what effect they may have on a person,” Becky Wieberg, ACHD clinical services manager, said. “Our hope with this public meeting is to provide some medically-sound advice and answers to questions our residents may have in relation to the use of the medications.”

Finck is also the owner of the Mexico-based Cornerstone Family Medicine, which provides personalized, patient-focused care to area residents in Mexico and Fulton.

“I’m happy to speak to our residents about these new medications that have been flooding the markets,” Finck said. “There’s a lot of information and misinformation out there about the medications and their uses and, our hope is to ease some concerns area residents may have about the use of them and, to possibly help them make up their minds as to if the medications are good for them to use.”

The seminar will be held at the ACHD building, located at 1130 South Elmwood Drive. This is a meeting open to the public. Individuals need to register by going to https://glp1.eventbrite.com or, go to www.myachd.org, find the flyer with the QR Code and scan it to register.