2024-01-27 13:00:00
THE ESSENTIAL
- A previous study showed that patients taking Ozempic lost between 8 and 11% of their weight in one year.
- New work reveals that 17.7% of patients end up regaining the weight they lost, or even gaining more.
- 18.7% taking injections of liraglutide, another anti-diabetic known as Saxenda, also returned to their initial weight after stopping.
Many people use semanglitude antidiabetics, sold under the names Ozempic or Wegovy, to lose weight. But a new study, published on January 23, 2024 on Epic Research, shows that the drug would not be truly “miraculous” for certain users. 17.7% of patients who took the drug with the aim of slimming their figure returned to their original weight, if not more, when they stopped following the treatment.
Ozempic: almost one in 5 people regains lost weight
In work published in April 2023, the team demonstrated that patients taking the recommended doses of Ozempic (semanglitude) for 60 weeks (a little over a year) lost between 8% and 11% of their initial weight. However, some participants gained weight again when they stopped treatment. To evaluate the effects of stopping semaglitude, researchers studied the records of 20,274 patients to whom a doctor had prescribed the injection, and who had then lost more than two kilos.
While a majority (56.2%) of former users remained at approximately the same weight or continued to lose weight, 17.7% of participants regained all of the weight lost, or even exceeded their initial weight, one year after stopping the drug. Furthermore, 26% of people who took Ozempic regained at least 25% of the weight lost.
Researchers also studied the effects of Liraglutide injections, another anti-diabetes treatment sometimes used for weight loss. They made a similar observation. 18.7% of former users had regained all or more of their lost weight after stopping the drug.
Sémaglitude: watch out for undesirable effects
The semaglitude molecule, present in Ozempic and Wegovy, is an analogue of GLP-1, a hormone playing an important role in the regulation of glucose and appetite. It stimulates the secretion of insulin and triggers a reaction that makes the brain believe that the stomach is full and that it is no longer necessary to eat. In addition to helping regulate blood sugar, this mechanism promotes weight loss. This has attracted the attention of non-diabetic people wishing to refine their figure.
In March 2023, Health Insurance had also confirmed the persistence of misuse of Ozempic and other similar antidiabetic drugs to lose weight. This situation has given rise to many fears among health professionals, such as the shortage of the drug for diabetic patients. Furthermore, regaining the weight lost with the treatment is not the only risk for its users. This medicine may cause potentially serious side effects, such as gastrointestinal disturbances, pancreatitis or hypoglycemia.
The National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) and Health Insurance have reminded several times during 2023 that “its prescription must be strictly reserved for patients with type 2 diabetes” and followed by a doctor.
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