The scientists described a drug that hijacks the body’s appetite system as a potential “game changer” in the treatment of obesity, after research has shown that it can reduce body weight by up to 20%.
The results of the large-scale international trial, which were published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that more than a third of people who took the drug semagglutide lost more than a fifth of their body weight.
The study, which involved almost 2,000 people in 16 countries, also showed that three-quarters of people who took the drug lost more than 10% of their body weight.
The drug is currently used to treat diabetes and works by altering appetite regulation to reduce calorie intake.
One of the study’s lead authors, Rachel Batterham of University College London, called the study “a breakthrough”.
“No other drug has come close to producing that level of weight loss – this really is a game changer,” said Batterman. “For the first time, people can achieve through medication what was only possible through weight loss surgery.”
Duane Mellor, a nutritionist at Aston Medical School in Birmingham, central England, told the BBC that the drug “provided a useful option”.
But he cautioned that “weight loss will still need lifestyle changes and that any medication or lifestyle change can bring potential risks and side effects.”
British study authors highlighted the impact that improving obesity treatment can have on health outcomes for a range of illnesses, including COVID-19, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer.
“This medicine could have important implications for UK health policy in the coming years,” said Batterham.
UK health experts drew a line between widespread obesity and the high number of deaths in the country during the Covid pandemic.
With more than 114,000 deaths, Britain is among the countries most affected by the disease in Europe.
The study’s evidence has been subject to regulatory approval for semagglutide as a treatment for obesity in Britain, the European Union and the United States.
© 2021 AFP