Obesity drug helps teens lose weight, study finds

A drug referred to as semaglutide, which is permitted for adults with weight problems or chubby, additionally helps adolescents shed kilos and have more healthy hearts, in keeping with a brand new examine revealed immediately within the New England Journal of Medication and introduced at Weight problems Week 2022.

In a world section 3a medical trial, adolescents with weight problems who obtained once-weekly semaglutide in comparison with placebo had a 16.1% lower of their physique mass index (BMI) whereas the BMI of those that took placebo rose by 0.6%.

“Charges of weight problems are rising, not simply within the U.S., however everywhere in the world,” mentioned senior creator Silva Arslanian, M.D., professor of pediatrics and medical and translational science and who holds the Richard L. Day Endowed Chair in Pediatrics on the College of Pittsburgh College of Medication. “Usually, we make way of life suggestions: Eat extra greens; do not eat fried meals; do not drink soda. However sadly, we dwell in a really obesogenic surroundings, so it may be very laborious to make these adjustments. There’s a actual want for protected and efficient medicines to deal with weight problems.”

Semaglutide is an weight problems drug that mimics a hormone referred to as glucagon-like peptide-1 to focus on areas of the mind that lower urge for food and enhance management of consuming. In 2021, this drug was permitted for power weight administration in adults with weight problems or chubby.

To evaluate whether or not semaglutide can be efficient in youths, researchers enrolled 201 adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years with weight problems or chubby throughout a number of facilities. Contributors obtained both once-weekly subcutaneous injections of semaglutide 2.4 mg or placebo, and all obtained concurrent way of life intervention—counseling on wholesome diet and bodily exercise—all through the trial.

After 68 weeks, 72.5% of semaglutide members had achieved a minimum of 5% weight reduction in comparison with simply 17% of these on placebo.

“The outcomes are superb,” mentioned Arslanian, who can be director of the Pediatric Medical and Translational Analysis Middle and scientific director of the Middle for Pediatric Analysis in Weight problems and Metabolism at Pitt and UPMC Youngsters’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. “For an individual who’s 5 foot, 5 inches tall and weighs 240 kilos, the typical discount in BMI equates to shedding about 40 kilos.”

Weight problems impacts virtually one in 5 kids and adolescents worldwide. This power illness is linked with decreased life expectancy and better danger of creating critical well being issues equivalent to sort 2 diabetes, coronary heart illness, nonalcoholic fatty liver illness, sleep apnea and sure cancers. Youngsters with weight problems are additionally extra more likely to have despair, anxiousness, poor shallowness and different psychological points.

The evaluation confirmed that semaglutide members had enhancements in cardiovascular danger components, together with waist circumference, a blood sugar metric referred to as HbA1c, complete, low-density and really low-density lipoprotein ldl cholesterol, triglycerides and liver enzymes in contrast with the placebo group. Nonetheless, there was no statistically important distinction in blood strain or high-density lipoprotein ldl cholesterol between the 2 teams.

Contributors who took semaglutide additionally had higher weight-related high quality of life measures, largely attributable to a lift in bodily consolation scores, in contrast with their placebo friends. The researchers observe that that is the primary weight problems drug to be linked with such quality-of-life enhancements in adolescents.

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College of Pittsburgh