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Semaglutide, a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, has been found to help overweight and obese people lose an average of 15% of their body weight over 68 weeks.
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Obesity is increasing in the US and increases the risk of death if infected with COVID-19.
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A participant regained weight after the trial ended.
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According to a new study, a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, obese and overweight people helps to lose more weight than any other medicine on the market.
Semaglutide, the drug used in the trial, helps release insulin from the pancreas in patients with type 2 diabetes and is administered in doses of about 1 mg. It is sold under the brand name Ozempic, and it seems to suppress appetite as well.
Researchers from Northwestern University have determined to determine whether semaglutide can reduce weight, as changes in lifestyle and bariatric surgery are not always long-lasting, and that current drugs have side effects, such as cancer risks.
During 68 weeks, participants who received the drug lost on average almost 15% of their weight – a clear difference between members of the placebo group who lost 2.4%.
The study also found that a third of the participants who took semaglutide lost 20% of their weight.
The drug is a ‘game changer’, said dr. Robert F. Kushner, study author and researcher on obesity at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told the New York Times. “This is the beginning of a new era of effective treatments for obesity.”
Dr. Eduardo Grunvald, medical director of the weight management program at UC San Diego Health, who was not involved in the study, said the results were “very exciting.”
“This is a major advancement in the field because we have never had a medication that showed this degree of weight loss,” he told Insider.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity has been increasing in the United States for the past 20 years. The disease causes heart problems, some cancers increase the chance of hospitalizations and death if infected with COVID-19.
Participants regained weight after the trial ended, and some developed gallstones.
In this study, participants were spread across 129 sites in 16 countries. Nearly 2,000 participants received a weekly dose of 2.4 mg of semaglutide or the placebo – 1,306 people received the drug and 655 people received the placebo. Both groups had a 500 calorie deficit per day and were encouraged to exercise 150 minutes per week.
The authors of the study said that white women were overrepresented in the study, so it is unclear whether the drug will be as effective in other populations. Some side effects include nausea and diarrhea, which are more common in the group using semaglutide. Also, 23 people who used the drug developed gallstones, compared to four in the placebo group.
Because the trial lasted only 68 weeks, it is unclear whether this remedy will work in the long run, according to an editorial.
Qiana Mosely, a participant in the trial who lost 40 kilograms, told the New York Times she is looking forward to using semaglutide again as she regains weight after the trial ends. “I was so sad.”
If this remedy is approved for the treatment of obesity, Grunvald said that it may or may not be covered depending on your insurance company. Partly because some insurance companies view obesity as a lifestyle choice rather than a disease.
Read the original article on Insider