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| Source: richmondhillgachiropractor.com |
Daily injections of a drug used to control diabetes also helped patients lose an average of more than 12 pounds over the course of a year, according to new research published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The non-insulin drug liraglutide was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2010 for Type 2 diabetes, and in 2014 for obesity in addition to diet and exercise. It's injected into the stomach before breakfast.
Current guidelines state that by losing just 5 to 10 percent of one's body weight, people who are overweight or obese can enjoy significant health improvements. Data culled from the multinational SCALE Obesity and Prediabetes trial found that study participants who were given the drug in addition to diet and exercise were more than twice as likely to meet that weight-loss target as participants who cut calories and increased exercise but were given a placebo.
Patrick O'Neil, director of the Weight Management Center at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, where he is also a professor in the department of in psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and colleagues randomly assigned nearly 2,500 overweight or obese patients to liraglutide with diet and exercise and more than 1,200 patients to the placebo-plus-diet-and-exercise combination.
At the end of the trial, more than 60 percent of patients who received the drug lost 5 percent or more of their body weight. Their blood pressure also decreased, compared with those who did not hit the 5 percent mark.
What's more, the prevalence of prediabetes was significantly lower in the active drug group compared with the placebo group, the researchers wrote. Those who did not take the drug were more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes, they added.
"Many people with obesity are unaware of its severity and its implications for their health. Losing 5% to 10% of their weight can give them significant health benefits, including improvements in blood glucose levels, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and obstructive sleep apnea. The nature of this disease is complex and maintaining weight loss can be challenging. Multiple treatment options are needed to help people with obesity lose weight, keep it off, and improve their health," O'Neil said in a press release.
By: Samantha Costa
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