Wonder Drug for Weight loss

A weekly injection of semaglutide, along with a special diet and fitness would suppress appetite and has led some people to lose more than a fifth of their body weight, according to a major international trial.

The study conducted on 2, 000 people revealed an average 15kg weight loss during the 15-month trial.

Scientists said the result could mark a new era in treating obesity with even more therapies on the horizon.

Jan from Kent, who lost 28kg  ( four stones) equivalent to a fifth of her body weight said “ the drug changed my life completely altered my approach to food”.

She said dieting had made her miserable but taking the drug was completely different as she was less hungry.

Semagultide will already be familiar to some people who use it as a treatment for type 2 diabetes, but this trial looked at giving it at higher doses.

The drug takes into effect by hijacking the body’s appetite levels and mimicking a hormone called GLP1 – which is released after eating a filling meal.

The trial gave some people and others a tummy injection, while both groups were given lifestyle advice.

However, 32 per cent of the people lost a fifth of their body weight with the drug compared with fewer than 2 per cent on the dummy treatment.

Prof Rachel Batterham. UK researcher from UCL said “ This is a game-changer in the amount of weight loss it causes. I have spent the last 20 years doing obesity research, up until now we’ve not had an effective treatment for obesity apart from bariatric surgery, and losing weight would reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and of severe Covid-19”.

Semaglutide  (Rybelsys ©  and Ozempic) which improves glycaemic control as an adjunct to diet and exercise, and also acts like glucagon-like peptide-1 which increases insulin secretion thereby increasing sugar metabolism, is being submitted to drugs regulators so cannot be routinely prescribed. But the drug would be used initially by specialist weight loss clinics rather than being widely available.”

There were side-effects to the drug including nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and constipation.

Prof Sir Stephen O Rahilly, from the University of Cambridge, said: “The weight loss achieved is greater than that seen with any licensed anti-obesity drug”.