Varied medicine have lengthy been used to assist handle diabetes, together with the generally prescribed Metformin. In 2017, the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration authorised a semaglutide drug — a part of a category of medicines often called glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists — with the model identify Ozempic for the therapy of sort 2 diabetes.
Since then, semaglutide has additionally been authorised for weight administration underneath the model identify Wegovy. These injectable drugs decrease blood-sugar ranges, enhance emotions of fullness, and delay the emptying of the abdomen after consuming.
“The foremost purpose these medicine work is that they trigger you to lose your urge for food,” explains nephrologist Jason Fung, MD. “However should you don’t pair that with correct dietary habits, then it’s only a non permanent repair as a result of as quickly as you cease taking the drug, all of the modifications reverse.”
“The foremost purpose these medicine work is that they trigger you to lose your urge for food,” explains nephrologist Jason Fung, MD. “However should you don’t pair that with correct dietary habits, then it’s only a non permanent repair as a result of as quickly as you cease taking the drug, all of the modifications reverse.”
A 2023 evaluation of pharmacy claims discovered that two-thirds of people that have been prescribed weight-loss medicine like Wegovy stopped taking them inside one 12 months. Price could also be an element, particularly for individuals paying out of pocket. Unwanted effects are one other. These can embrace nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and, extra hardly ever, abdomen paralysis, bowel obstruction, and pancreatitis.
Fung notes that curbing your urge for food could also be a blessing within the quick time period, nevertheless it loses its attraction. “These medicine take away starvation, however in addition they take away the pleasure of consuming. In the event you take that away for six months, persons are glad as a result of they’re losing a few pounds and getting more healthy. However take that enjoyment away for 2, three years, and it results in poor compliance. And whenever you cease taking it, the issues multiply.”
“The largest concern with these drugs is that we’re seeing an excessive amount of lack of lean muscle mass,” explains functional-medicine doctor Elizabeth Boham, MD, MS, RD. “Everytime you lose lean muscle mass, your metabolism decreases.” Research present that misplaced muscle mass additionally contributes to frailty in older adults.
Moreover, the burden individuals regain after stopping the remedy usually comes again as fats as an alternative of muscle.
A customized threat–profit evaluation might come out in favor of semaglutide for some individuals dealing with sure or excessive well being challenges. “If it helps somebody not have gastric bypass surgical procedure, there could also be a web profit,” Boham says. Regardless, anybody who opts to take semaglutide will profit from working with a private coach to reduce lack of lean muscle mass.
