Tag: weight loss

Categories : Diet and NutritionTags :

Weight Loss in 80% Following Series of Different Diets

On By ModernMedia
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In a study testing three successive and varying diets, nearly 80 percent of participants in a lost a “clinically significant” amount of body weight in less than two years.

The participants adhered to a sequence of a calorie-restrictive diet, a low-carb/high-fat diet and an intermittent fasting diet, losing 11.1 kilograms on average.

The results were published in the journal Nutrition.

“Almost 80 percent of participants lost a clinically significant amount of weight,” said study leader Rebecca Christensen, a PhD candidate at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. “This is important because losing just five percent of your body weight is associated with improvements in cardiometabolic function and other health concerns.

“That lets us know that we have a lot of different tools in the toolbox to pick from when initiating a dietary intervention.”

Christensen says that staying on the same diet can be tough, which is why she is pleased that the study’s findings suggest there may be an alternative.

“It can be quite hard for patients to maintain dietary interventions,” she said. “This might be where successive diets have an advantage as changing things up makes it easier to stick to a diet.”

As more people attempt to shed their pandemic weight, Christensen said she also found that there is no right month to start your diet. Rather, it is just about getting started, adding that reaching a very low body mass index (BMI) need not be the goal.

“We know that that’s not necessarily feasible,” she said. “But the very least they are reaching the weight that we know is beneficial for their health which is why we want to do the intervention.”

Source: University of Toronto

Categories : Metabolic Disorders New Compounds and TreatmentsTags :

‘Game-changing’ Weight Loss Drug Semaglutide Approved by FDA

On By ModernMedia
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The US Food and Drug Administration approved a ‘game changing’ weight loss drug called Wegovy (semaglutide) for chronic weight management in adults with obesity or overweight.

This injection is the first drug for chronic weight management in adults with general obesity or overweight to be approved since 2014. The drug is indicated for chronic weight management in patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 27 kg/m2 or greater who have at least one weight-related ailment or in patients with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or greater, and is to be used in conjunction with diet and exercise.

“Today’s approval offers adults with obesity or overweight a beneficial new treatment option to incorporate into a weight management program,” said John Sharretts, MD, deputy director of the Division of Diabetes, Lipid Disorders, and Obesity in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “FDA remains committed to facilitating the development and approval of additional safe and effective therapies for adults with obesity or overweight.”

Approximately 70% of American adults have obesity or overweight, and >67% of sub-Saharan Africans. This is a serious health issue linked to leading causes of death such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes, and also to increased risk of certain types of cancer. Losing 5% to 10% of body weight through diet and exercise has been associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease in adult patients with obesity or overweight.

Wegovy works by mimicking a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) that targets areas of the brain regulating appetite and food intake. The medication dose must be increased gradually over 16 to 20 weeks to 2.4 mg once per week to reduce gastrointestinal side effects.

The drug’s safety and efficacy were studied in four 68-week trials. Over 2600 patients received Wegovy for up to 68 weeks in these four studies and more than 1500 patients received placebo.

The largest placebo-controlled trial enrolled diabetes free adults with an average age of 46 years, and 74% of whom were female. The average body weight was 105 kg and average BMI was 38 kg/m2. Individuals receiving Wegovy lost an average of 12.4% of their initial body weight compared to individuals who received placebo. Another trial enrolled adults with type 2 diabetes. The average age was 55 years and 51% were female, with an average body weight of 100 kg and average BMI of 36 kg/m2. In this trial, individuals receiving Wegovy lost 6.2% of their initial body weight compared to the placebo group.

“The approval of Wegovy in the US brings great promise to people with obesity. Despite the best efforts to lose weight, many people with obesity struggle to achieve and maintain weight loss due to physiological responses that favour weight regain,” said Martin Holst Lange, executive vice president, Development at Novo Nordisk. “The unprecedented weight loss for an anti-obesity medication marks a new era in the treatment of obesity, and we now look forward to making Wegovy available to people living with obesity in the US”.

Unfortunately, the drug may be out of the reach of many people in need of it, with indications being that the medication may be charged at around US$1,300 a month.

Source: Food and Drug Administration