Obesity is considered one of the serious comorbidities that could land a COVID-19 patient into an ICU. Medical experts have been looking out for drugs or treatments that could control or reverse obesity or overweight condition of the human body. How often have you thought that you were not hungry but ate the pastry anyway because it was offered? Or that yummy samosa you had on a whim is now making you feel guilty of having binged and snacked when you wanted to eat wisely and consciously? For those of us who are obese and diabetic, this kind of helplessness before the needless temptations due to the brain's reaction to a stimulus can prove dangerous. And those who are healthy can find themselves slipping on a slippery slope to ill-health. Obesity is a chronic disease and global public health challenge. Obesity can lead to insulin resistance, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, which is associated with complications such as type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and needless to add that it not only reduces the quality of life but also impacts life expectancy negatively.
According to ScienceDaily, one third (35 per cent) of people who took a new drug for treating obesity lost more than one-fifth (greater than or equal to 20 per cent) of their total body weight, according to a major global study involving UCL researchers. The findings from the large-scale international trial, published in the New England Journal for Medicine, are being hailed as a "gamechanger" for improving the health of people with obesity and could play a major part in helping the UK to reduce the impact of diseases, such as COVID-19, says Science daily weight management supplement. The international trial funded by the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk is called Semaglutide Treatment Effect in People with Obesity (STEP). 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. 3. grant of incentives to participants such as kettlebells or food scales to mark progress and milestones. 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. What is this wonder drug called semaglutide? The drug, semaglutide, works by hijacking the body's own appetite-regulating system in the brain leading to reduced hunger and calorie intake. The drug possesses a compound structurally similar to (and mimics) the human glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) hormone, which is released into the blood from the gut after meals. GLP-1 induces weight loss by reducing hunger, increasing feelings of fullness and thereby helping people eat less and reduce their calorie intake. What are the medical experts saying? Rachel Batterham, Professor of Obesity, Diabetes and Endocrinology who leads the Centre for Obesity Research at UCL and the UCLH Centre for Weight Management, is one of the principal authors on the paper which involved almost 2,000 people in 16 countries.
The average participant in the trial lost 15.3kg (nearly 3 stone); this was accompanied by 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. This being a global trial, it took place at several authorised locations, where the conditions were followed equally strictly. Side-effects of the drug? While the STEP study has been through Phase I and II trials, assessing the 2.4mg doses for safety, in the Phase III trial 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. Is the drug commercially available? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Wegovy, a higher-dose version of Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug semaglutide, for long-term weight management. The drug carries a potential risk for a type of thyroid tumour, so it shouldn't be taken by people with a personal or family history of certain thyroid and endocrine tumours. Wegovy also has a risk of depression and pancreas inflammation. Wegovy (pronounced wee-GOH'-vee) is a synthesised version of a gut hormone that curbs appetite. Patients inject it weekly under their skin. Like other weight-loss drugs, it's to be used along with exercise, a healthy diet and other steps like keeping a food diary.