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A Chink of Light for Body Weight Control
During the pandemic of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an array of medical studies addressing risks in people with obesity, whether it is in terms of being associated with heart disease, the risk of admission in the hospital, the occurrence of heart failure, even death from the virus in question.
As a chronic disease with significant effects on health, obesity leads to insulin resistance, hypertension, dyslipidemia - an abnormal amount of lipids in the circulation. It is well known that obesity also causes type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, and bone and joint problems.
Hopes are rising for a sustainable obesity relief!
among thousands of medical studies.
There is a medication approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes which could help lose weight in obese patients, whether they have diabetes or not. The results after taking the medicine in good responders is almost similar to the results from gastrointestinal surgery on weight loss, also known as bariatric surgery. So far, Bariatric surgery is considered the most effective weight loss in medical practice consequently.
According to a recent study, STEP Program, getting up to 2.4 mg of semaglutide injected under the skin only once a week, along with lifestyle adjustments and controlling consumption habits such as eating a calorie-restricted diet, will help to lose more weight than the weight-loss drugs currently approved. Semaglutide will help decreasing appetite. As a result, people with overweight or obesity can lose weight to the levels that are advantageous for their health benefits. It shows, furthermore, that this medicine can reduce patient’s weight by 10-20% compared to body weight before treatment, while others approved medication can reduce only 4-10%.
Other benefits from this medication are decreasing waist circumference, lowering blood pressure, reducing glucose and blood lipid levels, all of which are beneficial for long-term health. This group of antidiabetic agent can also reduce the occurrence of cardiovascular disease in long-term uses.
For anyone looking forward to using this medicine! It is expected to hear the good news that the US Food and Drug Administration will approve semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly as a weight-loss drug soon. In Thailand, the medicine has got approval merely to use in patients with type 2 diabetes. The highest dosage is 1 mg per week.
We will keep you posted, if there is any further progress on this medicine, please stay tuned!
Prof. Apichard Sukonthasarn,M.D.
