'Gamechanger' drug for treating obesity cuts body weight by 20%

[Klaralven]

One third (35%) of people who took a new drug for treating obesity lost more than one-fifth (greater than or equal to 20%) of their total body weight, according to a major global study involving UCL researchers.

The findings from the large-scale international trial, published today in the New England Journal for Medicine, are being hailed as a "gamechanger" for improving the health of people with obesity and could play a major part in helping the UK to reduce the impact of diseases, such as COVID-19.

The drug, semaglutide, works by hijacking the body's own appetite regulating system in the brain leading to reduced hunger and calorie intake.

Rachel Batterham, Professor of Obesity, Diabetes and Endocrinology who leads the Centre for Obesity Research at UCL and the UCLH Centre for Weight Management, is one of the principal authors on the paper which involved almost 2,000 people in 16 countries.

Professor Batterham (UCL Medicine) said: "The findings of this study represent a major breakthrough for improving the health of people with obesity. Three quarters (75%) of people who received semaglutide 2.4mg lost more than 10% of their body weight and more than one-third lost more than 20%. No other drug has come close to producing this level of weight loss - this really is a gamechanger. For the first time, people can achieve through drugs what was only possible through weight-loss surgery."

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/ucl-df021021.php

[soothsayer]

1. I read 15% and even that was awesome

[dem4decades]

2. Sign me up.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Where do I get some???

I need to read up on it.

Hunger is a big problem for me, especially at bedtime.

[marlakay]

4. They never say the side affects

Most weight drugs that take your appetite away mess with your system.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. The article does discuss side effects.

Also, this drug has been successfully used in the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes for some time, although at lower levels than for the obesity problem.

[theneworiginal]

19. Sudden explosive diarrhea, loss of limbs, death

kidding. But you know they will be listed on commercial with happy music and puppies.

[Rstrstx]

25. Mmm, so about like Olestra?

[phylny]

31. My favorite pharmaceutical ad wording(not this drug) is:

"Fatal events have happened."

Say WHAT?

I'd be interested in this drug.

[Politicub]

35. I take one drug with a black box warning.

I'm all meh about it, yet a hypochondriac about everything else.

I used to be on two at the same time.

I was on Saxenda, which is the first of these glutide-based diabetes/weight loss injections, and it worked really well. The insurance stopped paying for it, and I can't afford the $1,200 cost per month. I've gained back the weight I lost while on it.

Saxenda worked by making food seem unappetizing.

The black-box warning for Saxenda was that it caused thyroid tumors in laboratory mice. I'm not sure if that has actually happened to a person, though.

[LakeArenal]

7. Exactly.

[Cirque du So-What]

8. True

This needs thorough study before approval.

[DrToast]

27. It's been in trials for years

Novo Nordisk filed a New Drug Application with the FDA in December. It will likely be approved sometime this summer.

[LanternWaste]

12. Yes, the article does touch on the measured side effects.

"side effects from the drug including mild-to-moderate nausea and diarrhoea that were transient and generally resolved without permanent discontinuation from the study."

[Dream Girl]

15. Remember phen-phen? Heart damage as I recall. I think I'll just stick with keto

No appetite in ketosis

[Tribetime]

21. Yep the natural way is always better

[Mike 03]

17. Some are listed here in the Wikipedia entry

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semaglutide#Adverse_effects

[Ferrets are Cool]

5. Is it going to keep people from eating Big Macs and fried chicken with double helpings of

mash taters? You have to want to lose weight for it to happen...and even then it sometimes takes a miracle pill like this to help.

[marlakay]

10. Its all in the mind

Like you said want it, that takes thought in a direction different than where you are.

[Dream Girl]

24. Again, sheer ignorance.You don't know wat you're taking about. But nice fat shaming tag team

You got going there. I struggled to stay a normal weight until I found a way of eating that works for me. I believe that many obese people have wrecked metabolisms for sugar and starch in their diets. It is NOT their fault! By limiting carbs and sugar, I’ve been able to maintain a healthy weight and my numbers are great! I’ve eaten this way for 20+ years. For me, carbs and sugar stimulated my appetite I was always hungry. Nowadays, I have to ask myself, “did I have lunch?” I can literally forget to eat.

[marlakay]

29. I wasn't fat shaming and I am on a diet

Right now myself for my blood pressure. When I said mind and thought what I meant was we have to change how we think about food to be able to eat in a healthy way.

And sugar and carbs are the thing that causes me the most problems also but if I think about it all in a negative way it makes it harder, thats all I meant.

[Dream Girl]

22. What an ignorant comment.

[WarGamer]

9. Again... treating the hunger, not the metabolism.

The real breakthrough will be giving everyone the metabolism of the guy we all know who can eat pizza and drink real Coke as much as he wants and has never weighed more than a buck and a half.

[Lunabell]

13. I feel ya!

I have a friend who eats like a damned horse, lounges without exercising and weighs all of 120 lbs. Yes, I am envious.lol.

[WarGamer]

16. It's my curse...

I've always said that if Heaven exists... we'll all have figures like Zach Efron and Emily Ratajkowski and all 3 meals a day will consist of Pizza, Krispy Kremes and finish the day off with McConnells Ice Cream (100x better than that B&J crap)

EDIT: And every breakfast would be Biscuits and Gravy, Sausage, Scrambled Eggs, Pancakes and Hashed Browns.

[ProfessorGAC]

23. Isn't That What Methadrine Did?

Until people got hooked on it or had heart palpitations, it was a great weight loss drug.
Raised that metabolism right up there.
It is a great idea, but the early approach was a poor one.

[WarGamer]

28. That's not the current direction of the research

They think it's the bacterial composition of the gut that influences weight control...

People who gain weight "looking" at a Pizza have the wrong or insufficient bacteria.

[ProfessorGAC]

30. I Know

Didn't mean to imply they were pursuing a similar mechanism.
Actually, I was reinforcing your point about raising metabolism because that's the very reason why amphetamines worked for weight loss.
Hopefully, this mechanism they're pursuing lacks those pernicious side-effects.

[WarGamer]

37. agreed, I Hate the feeling I get from Coffee, etc...

I'd rather have the bacteria do the work

[csziggy]

11. It's already on the market for type 2 diabetes

At a lower dose of 1 mg, compared to the 2.4 mg for weight loss.

At that dose side effects are:

Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, diarrhea, or constipation may occur. Nausea usually lessens as you continue to take semaglutide.

{SNIP}

Semaglutide has rarely caused a very serious (possibly fatal) disease of the pancreas (pancreatitis). Get medical help right away if you develop symptoms of pancreatitis, including: severe stomach/abdominal pain, nausea/vomiting that doesn't stop.

https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-178018/semaglutide-oral/details

[tblue37]

14. Remember phen-fen? I wouldn't trust this until it had been used widely for a couple of years.

[intrepidity]

18. brand names Ozempic and Rybelsus, fyi nt

[phylny]

32. I'm using Ozempic and I sure haven't lost that much weight.

Ah well.

[KewlKat]

20. Semaglutide is currently sold under brands Ozempic and Rybelsus.

Semaglutide, sold under the brand names Ozempic and Rybelsus, is an anti-diabetic medication used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Semaglutide acts like human glucagon-like peptide-1 so that it increases insulin secretion, thereby increasing sugar metabolism.

In conjunction with lifestyle management, once-weekly semaglutide helped people with obesity lose a significant amount of weight, the Semaglutide Treatment Effect in People with Obesity (STEP) 1 study found.

In a double-blind trial of 1,961 adults with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, adults on 2.4 mg of weekly semaglutide lost an average 14.9% of baseline body weight after 68 weeks of treatment versus only 2.4% for a group on placebo and lifestyle intervention alone (treatment difference -12.4%, 95% CI -13.4 to -11.5, P

[NurseJackie]

26. Are the side effects worth it? There are always negative side effects.

[gldstwmn]

33. In the 80's

it was called coke. Not only did you lose weight but your mind eventually went with it.
Seriously though I hope this helps folks.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

34. How long do they keep it off?

Weight is not a reliable indicator of health, anyway.

[Hekate]

36. I remember Phen-fen worked superbly... except for that heart problem thingy

So, let’s wait and see.

[Tarc]

38. Drugs will never be a substitute for eating better and exercising

People are desperate for shortcuts.