A new era of weight loss medication began on Wednesday: The Food and Drug Administration has approved Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 oral pill for sale in the United States. The approval for the drug, which will be sold under the brand name Foundayo, marks an important technological inflection point for this class of drugs that is transforming obesity care in the US and around the world. The previous generation of GLP-1 treatments were injections: Patients (or their doctors) had to handle a needle and insert it into their body in order to reap the weight-loss benefits. It’s hard to estimate exactly how much Americans’ needle aversion has tamped down their uptake of GLP-1 drugs. Other factors — especially costs , as well as concerns about long-term safety and side effects , and a preference for other weight-loss tactics — have undoubtedly played a role, based on patient surveys .…