Diabetes Drug Leads to Weight Loss

In a finding experts have praised as game-changing, a weekly dose of a diabetic medicine appears to Leads to considerable weight reduction in obese persons. According to the World Health Organization, obesity kills 1.2 million people in Europe each year, with the United Kingdom having one of the highest obesity rates.

Diet and exercise have long been used to combat the condition, but many individuals who lose weight this way eventually gain it back. Researchers now claim that if a diabetic medicine is used in conjunction with other obesity treatments, it can help individuals lose weight. A 72-week experiment found that participants dropped up to 20% of their body weight.

A multinational team reports in the New England Journal of Medicine that they randomly divided 2,539 overweight or obese volunteers into four equal groups. The first group received a self-administered placebo injection once a week for 72 weeks, while the other three received either 5mg, 10mg, or 15mg of tirzepatide. Regular lifestyle counseling sessions were also provided to all participants in order to assist them to keep to low-calorie meals and at least 150 minutes of physical exercise each week.

Participants weighed an average of 104.8kg (16.5 stone), with 94.5 percent being obese. None of the women were diabetic, and the majority were white and female. Participants given 5mg of tirzepatide each week lost an average of 16.1kg, those given 10mg lost an average of 22.2kg, and those given 15mg lost an average of 23.6kg at the end of the 72-week period, according to the results of those who stuck to the assigned intervention (nearly 82 percent of the sample). A placebo injection resulted in a 2.4kg weight loss on average.