Wegovy – Finally, A Miracle Weight Loss Drug That Works

Weight loss is hard, there’s no doubt about it. Dealing with hunger pangs and having to feed your family while you go without makes dieting difficult.

But the good news is on the horizon. Danish drug makers, Novo Nordisk have come up with what they say is a miracle weight loss injection. It’s called Wegovy and it uses hormones to regulate your appetite.

A miracle weight loss cure?

The manufacturers tell us to use the injection in conjunction with a reduced-calorie diet. Plus you should also introduce some exercise into your lifestyle. That means you still need to put in some effort.

It could help to treat the 28% of people that are obese in the UK and the 32% that are overweight, but not obese.

Weight loss studies

Novo Nordisk announced that in a study of the treatment the average patient lost 15 per cent of their body weight. That, according to Novo Nordisk is around about three times more than on previous drugs. Almost a third of the patients lost nearly as much weight as they would have done after weight loss surgery.

This could be good news for the NHS when the drug arrives in the UK. Obesity-related illness costs the NHS 6.1 billion pounds between 2014 and 2015 and costs are still rising.

Obesity can increase the risk of certain cancers and are 5 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. Obese people generally have high blood pressure too, which means they could develop heart disease.

How scientists found Wegovy

Novo Nordisk didn’t set out to make a weight loss drug. The company were experimenting with ways to restore normal insulin production.

This came about because researchers in Copenhagen, London and Boston discovered that a hormone called GLP-1 was secreted in the cells of the small intestine. The GLP-1 caused the release of insulin which reduces the fluctuations in blood sugar levels.

Scientists decided to try and produce a GLP-1-based drug to help diabetics. But they noticed their lab rats and mice began to lose weight.

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Wegovy for general use. In June 2021.

The Wegovy disadvantages

The downside to using the drug is its side effects which can range from headache, fatigue, and indigestion to nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

Another disadvantage to using the drug is that once you stop using it your appetite will return. This means there is a risk that you will regain the weight you lost.

One patient in the test lost 57 pounds whilst using the injections. But when she stopped injecting the drug, she regained 20 pounds and started to have panic attacks thinking about her craving for food.

The future of weight loss drugs

Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk is waiting to see if its treatment will be approved for use in other countries and whether doctors can be persuaded to prescribe it in the States.

Other drug manufacturers and also trialling obesity drugs meaning in the future it will not be the only drug on the market making use of the advantages of GLP-1. Novo Nordisk is now researching to find out why the body regains weight after dieting.

Wegovy is not available in the UK yet. But there are plenty of other weight loss pills on the market including Xenical which states it prevents up to one-third of dietary fat from being digested.

If you want to know more about weight loss pills speak to us at the pharmacy and we’ll be able to advise you on what’s best for your needs.

It could be that in the future taking a pill or having an injection will be all you’ll need to lose excess weight. At the moment pills can help, but better results will come from combining the pills with a healthy diet and exercise.