Can This Diabetes Drug Fight Obesity? Here's What This New Study Claims

Are you troubled by obesity? Then here is a new medicine to reduce weight.

The problem of obesity is spreading rapidly around the world like an epidemic. You'll be surprised to know that about 28 lakh people die from being overweight or obese every year. The WHO has placed a BMI of 25 or more as overweight and a BMI of 30 or more as obesity. But now, here's good news for the people facing the problem of obesity.

Body Weight Reduced By 15% In 16 Months

As per a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, a diabetes drug called Semaglutide can help overweight and obese people lose an average of about 15 per cent of their body mass over 16 months. This medicine is in the form of an injection, which is taken as a single shot once a week. With the help of this medicine, insulin production increases in the body, which helps suppress appetite. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently reviewing this drug, and if it is approved, it will be the fifth drug for weight loss available in the US market.

Lead Author's Comments

The lead author of this study and Rachel Batterham of University College London, says, 'So far no drug has been successful in reducing weight to this level, so this drug is like a game-changer. This will happen for the first time when people with obesity will be able to achieve what was possible with only weight loss surgery.

How The Research Took Place?

This study included 2 thousand people from 16 countries, out of which about 70 per cent of the people who took the drug saw a reduction in body weight of more than 10 per cent. At present, this drug called Semaglutide is used to treat diabetes, which helps suppress the appetite and reduces the calorie intake.

Side Effects Of The Medicine

However, some side effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and constipation were also seen in those taking this medicine. These side effects were seen in about three-quarters of the people involved in the study. However, after taking the drug, these participants started to have a better physical function, their pain decreased, and blood pressure and glucose control also improved.

Diseases Caused By Obesity

Another author associated with this study, Robert Kushner, says that due to being overweight and obese, many health problems are seen in people, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), cancer etc. So in such a situation, even if the weight is reduced by 10 per cent, it can help remove these diseases or control them in a better way.