Diabetes drug hailed as a breakthrough for weight reduction

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Ultimately, obesity help may come in a pill, according to a new study of a diabetes treatment that resulted in significant weight loss for the average participant.

“A medical treatment for obesity that results in a 10% weight loss in the majority and 20% weight loss in over a third of the participants. This is the beginning of a new era, “said Rachel Batterham, a researcher and professor of Obesity, Diabetes and Endocrinology and director of the Center for Obesity Research at UCL and the UCLH Center for Weight Management Twitter TWTR, +1, 17%.

A total of 1,961 adults from North America, South America, Asia and Europe took part in the 2018 68-week study involving the drug semaglutide, an anti-diabetic drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine has been published,

People received a weekly shot of semaglutide under the skin or a placebo, as well as counseling sessions to keep them on a calorie-restricted diet and more exercise. Semaglutide is sold under the names Ozempic and Rybelsus by the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk NVO, + 3.86%.

“Participants who received semaglutide were more likely to lose 5% or more, 10% or more, 15% or more, and 20% or more of their base body weight by week 68 than those who received placebo,” the study said.

Study participants were 18 years of age and older, with one or more previous weight loss attempts and with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more or a BMI of 27 with one or more weight-related conditions that were treated or untreated. A normal BMI tends to fall in the range of 18.5 to 24.9.

“Our study showed that in overweight or obese (non-diabetic) adults, once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide plus lifestyle intervention was associated with significant, sustained, clinically relevant mean weight loss of 14.9%, with 86% of participants at least 5% achieved weight loss, ”said the study researchers.

Novo Nordisk has submitted semaglutide as a weight management treatment for regulatory approval to the Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency.