After successful trials in adults and subsequent FDA approval last year, an emerging obesity drug is now showing promise when used to treat overweight teens.
The treatment has also been shown to induce effects that improve certain markers of cardiovascular health, according to the “New Atlas” website, citing “The New England Journal of Medicine”.
appetite stimulating hormone
The drug in question was approved as a treatment for type 2 diabetes in 2017, but it has also shown promise in the field of weight loss. The drug works by mimicking the chemical composition of a hormone in the body that acts on the appetite control center in the brain to reduce the feeling of hunger, and a small 2017 study showed that it led to weight loss in a group of 28 people. obese.
weekly injection
This was followed by a study of over 2,000 obese people who received weekly injections of the drug and entered weight loss programs with fewer calories and more physical activity. In this group, the researchers observed an average weight loss of 15.3 kg, with an average decrease in BMI of 5.54%, along with reduced risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. Hence, the FDA approved the drug as a treatment for obesity in adults in June of last year.
Special results for teenagers
As evidence continues to accumulate on anti-obesity benefits in adults, the effects on adolescents have remained unclear. So another study involved 201 people between the ages of 12 and 18 who were overweight or obese, who were given weekly injections of the reintroduced drug or a placebo, and were simultaneously advised on nutrition and physical activity.
Lost 18 out of 109 kg
After 68 weeks, 72.5% of participants lost at least 5% of their weight, compared to only 17% in the placebo group. The real drug group had an average decrease of 16.1% in BMI, while the placebo group increased on average by 0.6%. The scientists also observed an improvement in cardiovascular risk factors again, including waist circumference, cholesterol and glycemic control.
Lead researcher Silva Arslanian of the University of Pittsburgh said, “The results are amazing. For a person who is 165cm tall and weighs 109kg, the average decrease in BMI is equivalent to losing about 18kg.”
