Help with obesity can still come in a pill, according to a new study with diabetes treatment that led to remarkable weight loss in the average participant.
“A medical treatment for obesity that results in 10% weight loss in the majority and 20% weight loss in more than a third of the participants. This is the beginning of a new era, ”said Rachel Batterham, one of the researchers involved in the study and professor of obesity, diabetes and endocrinology and head of the Center for Obesity Research at UCL and the UCLH Center for Weight Management, about Twitter
TWTR,
A total of 1,961 adults from North America, South America, Asia and Europe participated in the 2018 68-week study of the drug semaglutide, an anti-diabetic drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, according to the study released Wednesday. published in The New England Journal of Medicine,
The individuals received an injection of semaglutide under the skin or a placebo weekly, along with counseling sessions to adhere to a reduced-calorie diet and increased exercise. Semaglutide is sold under the names Ozempic and Rybelsus by the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk NVO,
“Participants who received semaglutide were more likely to lose 5% or more, 10% or more, 15% or more, and 20% or more of baseline body weight at week 68 than those who received placebo,” the study said.
Study participants were 18 years and older, with one or more previous weight loss diet attempts and with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, or a BMI of 27 with one or more weight-related conditions, whether or not treated. A normal BMI usually falls in the range of 18.5 to 24.9.
“Our study showed that among overweight or obese adults (without diabetes), a weekly subcutaneous semaglutide plus lifestyle intervention was associated with substantial, sustained, clinically relevant mean weight loss of 14.9%, with 86% of the participants at least 5%. reached. weight loss, ”said the study researchers.
Novo Nordisk has submitted semaglutide as a weight management treatment to the Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency for approval.