A drug that suppresses appetite has been described as a “gamechanger” in the fight against obesity, after research has shown that it can reduce body weight by up to 20%.
The study on the effects of semagglutide on obesity by a team at University College London (UCL) found that more than a third (35%) of the people who took it lost more than a fifth of their total body weight.
The researchers say that this means that, for the first time, it is possible to achieve through medication what was previously only possible through weight loss surgery.
The negative health implications of obesity have been brought to an even sharper focus by COVID-19 crisis because of your effect on mortality rates.
Semagglutide works by hijacking the body’s appetite regulation system in the brain, leading to reduced hunger and calorie intake.
The UCL randomized control trial involved 1,961 overweight or obese adults (average weight 105 kg / 16.5 stone, body mass index 38 kg / m2) and occurred in 129 sites in 16 countries in Asia, Europe, North America and South America.
Participants took a 2.4 mg dose of semagglutide or corresponding placebo weekly by injection under the skin.
Overall, 94.3% of participants completed the 68-week study, which began in the fall of 2018.
Participants also received face-to-face or telephone counseling from accredited nutritionists every four weeks to help them adhere to a low-calorie diet and increase physical activity, providing guidance, behavioral strategies and motivation.
In those who took semagglutide, the average weight loss was 15.3 kg, with a reduction in BMI of 5.54.
The placebo group observed an average weight loss of 2.6 kg (0.4 stone) with a reduction in BMI of 0.92.
Publishing the data in the New England Journal for Medicine, lead author, Professor Rachel Batterham, of the Center for Obesity Research at UCL, said: “The findings of this study represent a major step forward in improving the health of people with obesity.
“Three quarters (75%) of people who received 2.4 mg of semaglutide lost more than 10% of their body weight and more than a third lost more than 20%.
“No other drug has come close to producing that level of weight loss – it really is a game changer.
“For the first time, people can achieve through medication what was only possible through weight loss surgery.”
Professor Batterham added that the drug could have important implications for UK health policy in the coming years.
Along with weight loss, the group that took semagglutide saw reductions in risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, such as waist circumference, blood fat, blood sugar and blood pressure, and reported improvements in their overall quality of life.
Semagglutide has now been clinically approved for use by patients with type 2 diabetes, albeit in lower doses than those used in the obesity trial.
The study’s evidence has been submitted for regulatory approval as a treatment for obesity by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE), the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).