All I had to do was suggest, a few months back, that there were no such things as ‘Magic Bullets’ to cure major diseases and health scourges like obesity than the labs of the world started spewing out ammunition that might shoot down my claims…
Could semaglutide even help our poster girl for obesity
achieve anything like a ‘normal’ weight?
Alas! I’m not talking about cancer or heart disease, but obesity – which nevertheless has been named as a contributing factor to the development of dozens of other diseases and conditions – has been getting the most attention from researchers in the past couple of years. And their work is starting to produce results that are looking more and more like actual Magic Bullets.
This time, I am delighted to pass along the claim of a team of researchers from University College London (UCL) that their efforts have resulted in what they’re calling a game-changer in the fight against obesity.
A wide-ranging trial
The results of a recent trial of a new drug called ‘semaglutide’ on almost 2,000 volunteers from all over the world confirmed the effectiveness of the substance in helping folks from all walks of life lose significant amounts of excess weight.
Semaglutide, works by hijacking the body’s own appetite regulating system in the brain leading to reduced hunger and calorie intake.
Patient cadres were assembled at 129 sites in 16 countries across Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. Subjects were adults were either overweight or had obesity (average weight 105kg/16.5 stone; body mass index 38kg/m2).
According to an abstract of the study report: “Participants took a 2.4mg dose of semaglutide (or matching placebo) weekly via subcutaneously (under the skin) injection; similar to the way people with diabetes inject insulin. Overall, 94.3 percent of participants completed the 68-week study, which started in autumn 2018.
What they found
The report goes on: “In those taking semaglutide, the average weight loss was 15.3kg (nearly three stone), with a reduction in BMI of -5.54. The placebo group observed an average weight loss of 2.6kg (0.4 stone) with a reduction in BMI of -0.92. […] Those who had taken semaglutide also saw reductions in risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, such as waist circumference, blood fats, blood sugar and blood pressure and reported improvements in their overall quality of life.”
Some participants reported side effects from the drug including mild-to-moderate nausea and diarrhoea that were transient and generally resolved without permanent discontinuation from the study.
Semaglutide is already used in small dosages to help treat type 2 diabetes by controlling appetite.
The takeaway
Professor Rachel Batterham (UCL Medicine) said: “The findings of this study represent a major breakthrough for improving the health of people with obesity. Three quarters (75 percent) of people who received semaglutide 2.4mg lost more than 10 percent of their body weight and more than one-third lost more than 20 percent. 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 [previously] was only possible through weight-loss surgery.”
My take
No mere scientific study report can emphasize with adequate force what the approval of semaglutide for regular use will mean for millions suffering obesity and extreme overweight adults. But I have two questions the abstract does not address:
First, can semaglutide be used for longer than the 68-week duration of the new study to achieve further weight loss? After all, some folks (see photo, above) really do need to lose or than just 20 percent of their body weight to restore their health.
Second, are folks who lose weight using semaglutide more likely than, less likely than or equally likely to than those who lose weight using other methods to keep it off? Or do semaglutide users need to take occasional maintenance doses?
I also wonder if the weight loss industry (Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, Jenny Craig, et al) is going to try to suppress this new ‘gamechanging’ weight loss method, or will these hugely-profitable companies just have to live with the changes in their business models that semaglutide forces on them?
One thing is sure: this story is not yet over, by a long shot…
~ Maggie J.