Expanding access to new, highly effective weight-loss medications could prevent more than 40,000 deaths a year in the United States, according to a study. The findings highlight the critical need to remove existing barriers that are hindering people’s access to effective weight loss treatments and impeding public health efforts to address the national obesity crisis, the researchers said. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 74% of Americans are considered overweight, with about 43% of those individuals considered obese.