Posted: 01:26, 12 September 2022 | Updated: 01:28, 12 September 2022
An obesity drug given in weekly shots more than halves the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a landmark review. Patients can inject themselves with semaglutide, which works by hijacking the brain to suppress appetite and reduce calorie intake. Overweight and obese participants who received the regular doses saw their chances of suffering from the condition drop by up to 61%. The drug has been approved for use in England after it was shown to help patients lose an average of 15 per cent of their body weight, equal to 2st 7lb The drug has been approved for use in England after it was shown to help patients lose an average of 15 per cent of their body weight, equal to 2st 7lb. Around 4.5 million people live with type 2 diabetes in England, which costs the NHS more than £10 billion a year. The researchers performed a new analysis of data from two previous trials of semaglutide to assess its impact on the condition. Study leader Dr Timothy Garvey said an average weight loss of 15% was “enough to treat or prevent a wide range of obesity-related complications that impair health and quality of life”. He added that this effect is “a game changer in obesity medicine.” In the first trial, 1,961 overweight and obese patients received an injection of 2.4 mg of semaglutide or a placebo weekly for 68 weeks. In the second, another 803 overweight and obese participants received weekly injections of 2.4 mg of semaglutide for 20 weeks. These patients then either stayed on the drug or were switched to placebo for the next 48 weeks. All participants received advice on diet and exercise. Overweight and obese participants who received the regular doses saw their chances of developing the condition drop by up to 61 percent Researchers from the University of Alabama, in the US, used a formula called cardiometabolic disease staging to predict the risk of developing type two diabetes over the next decade. This calculation has been shown to be a highly accurate measure of risk and takes into account gender, age, race, body mass index and blood pressure plus blood glucose and cholesterol levels. Ten-year risk scores for participants who received semaglutide in the first trial fell by 61 percent from 18.2 percent at baseline to 7.1 percent at week 68. That compared with a 13 percent reduction in risk for those who took placebo, from 17.8 percent at baseline to 15.6 percent at week 68. Results from the second trial showed that continued treatment is needed to maintain the drop in type 2 diabetes risk. The findings will be presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Stockholm, Sweden, next week. n The saying tells us to breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper. But the theory behind it — that we burn more calories after breakfast than dinner — is false, the researchers found. They put 30 overweight or obese people on two four-week diets – one with a big breakfast and a small dinner, while the other reversed the proportions. The University of Aberdeen study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, found that a similar amount of calories were burned, but big breakfasts boosted a hormone that makes us feel full and could help control appetite.
