Kind 2 diabetes is among the most typical and well-studied fashionable illnesses. So, new medicines to fight this situation are continuously being developed.
One such kind of medicine is named a glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) agonist. These meds have develop into more and more fashionable just lately as a result of regardless that GLP-1 receptor agonists had been initially developed to deal with kind 2 diabetes, they started to indicate a really promising profit: vital weight reduction.
For those who suppose you’re a candidate for one in every of these medicines, learn on to study every part you want to find out about GLP-1 agonists for weight reduction, how they work, who ought to take them, their uncomfortable side effects, and extra.
What Are GLP-1 Agonists?
Hormones are your physique’s pure messengers. They carry essential messages to totally different organs to maintain your physique functioning usually. Each insulin and GLP-1 peptide are naturally occurring hormones.
The meals you eat will get damaged down into easy sugars (like glucose) in your abdomen.
This sugar then enters the bloodstream and travels all through the physique. Insulin directs the sugar out of your blood into your cells for use as vitality.
However when insulin can’t do its job nicely anymore, the sugar stays within the blood, and also you develop kind 2 diabetes.
For this reason individuals with diabetes have higher-than-normal blood sugar ranges. It’s additionally why most diabetes medicines (together with GLP-1 agonists) are focused in direction of blood sugar management.
However like all good planners, your physique at all times has a backup. When insulin begins slacking off (prefer it does in people with diabetes), your physique sends out the GLP-1 hormone to select up the slack.
When scientists found this good transfer, they got here up with a approach to mimic the physique’s actions. Thus, GLP-1 agonists had been developed.
An agonist is any manufactured substance (like a drug or medicine) that copies or boosts the actions of a naturally occurring substance (on this case, GLP-1) by stimulating its receptor.
How Does GLP-1 Work?
GLP-1 is often produced within the small gut. It has a four-fold messenger motion:
- It tells the pancreas to extend insulin secretion to handle your blood sugar ranges correctly.
- It additionally tells the pancreas to not launch hormones like glucagon, which may transfer glucose from different storage locations (just like the liver) into the bloodstream.
- It tells your abdomen to digest the meals slowly in order that extra sugars don’t get added to the bloodstream earlier than insulin can clear them out.
- It tells your mind that you just’re full and never hungry in any respect — aka, it decreases starvation and will increase satiety. This prevents overeating and retains you from taking in additional meals earlier than the earlier meal is absolutely digested.
This ultimate motion has caught the attention of most people and has pushed GLP-1 agonists—essentially the most well-known being semaglutide—into the limelight, even amongst individuals with out diabetes.
GLP-1 agonists can lower your urge for food and maintain you feeling full on a regular basis. They might enable you drop a few pounds, particularly for those who discover portion management difficult.
Does this imply anybody can take GLP-1 medication to drop a few pounds? Let’s discover the professionals and cons of taking these medicines for weight reduction results.
6 Key Issues of GLP-1 Medication
GLP-1 agonists had been first accepted to be used as kind 2 diabetes medicine by the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2005. These medication are often out there in a liquid kind, together with a needle and syringe.
You should inject them into the fatty tissue below your pores and skin. The commonest injection web site is the stomach, adopted by the outer thighs, higher buttocks, and the backs of your arms.
These medication are often really helpful solely after safer and extra typical strategies like weight loss plan and train have failed to supply the specified outcomes.
Even then, GLP-1 agonists aren’t miracle medication and might’t work alone. They have to be accompanied by dietary and life-style modifications for long-term use.
1. Study who can and can’t take these medication
To learn from GLP-1 agonist medication, your physique mass index ought to both be 30 or larger or be 27 or larger with a well being complication like:
- Prediabetes or kind 2 diabetes
- Heart problems
- Hypertension
- Excessive ldl cholesterol
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver illness
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome
Based on MyFitnessPal’s registered dietician, Stephanie Nelson, you need to seek the advice of your well being care supplier earlier than beginning this medicine. It’s because taking any medicine comes with sure dangers and attainable uncomfortable side effects. well being care supplier will enable you weigh the dangers you face by taking the medicine versus the dangers of not taking it.
They’ll additionally issue within the well being advantages you’ll obtain by taking the medicine. These medication are greatest fitted to people who’re at well being threat associated to their weight. For instance, when you have weight problems, you’re at a larger threat of creating diabetes or coronary heart illness.
However for those who’re NOT at well being threat, then these medication aren’t really helpful for you as a result of they put you at pointless threat of uncomfortable side effects.
You additionally shouldn’t take GLP-1s if:
- You will have a private or household historical past of thyroid most cancers, as they enhance the chance of thyroid most cancers.
- You’re pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning to get pregnant.
- You will have extreme bowel illness.
- You’re allergic/delicate to semaglutide.
- You will have a previous or energetic consuming dysfunction.
One other factor to think about when choosing GLP-1s is the affect of those medication in your meals consumption.
For instance, GLP-1s impression meals consumption by quieting meals noise and subconsciously getting you to decide on much less salty, sugary, and fatty meals. This speaks to how highly effective your unconscious cues to eat are and the function your mind performs in weight problems.
However it is a double-edged sword since you nonetheless must be aware and aware of what you’re consuming to make sure you’re consuming sufficient—which is the place monitoring what you eat is available in.
Whereas taking GLP-1 medicines, you want to keep disciplined about making nutritious meals decisions and monitoring your energy to forestall malnutrition and obtain wholesome weight reduction.
2. Know the GLP-1 medication out there and their effectiveness
Many GLP-1 medicines can be found on the U.S. market. Nevertheless, solely the next three are at the moment accepted by the FDA to be used as weight-loss medication:
Semaglutide (Wegovy)
- Kind: injectable
- Frequency: weekly
- Beginning dose: 0.25 to 1.7 mg for the primary 16 weeks
- Upkeep dose: 2.4 mg
- Efficacy findings:
- Producer-sponsored research of 803 and 1,961 individuals: common lower in physique weight of seven.9% and 14.9%, respectively, with smaller waists and decrease whole levels of cholesterol, systolic blood strain, and triglycerides
- Analysis evaluation in 2021: weekly dose of Wegovy led to weight discount results in a number of research
Liraglutide (Saxenda)
Tirzepatide (Zepbound)
- Twin GLP-1/glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptor agonist
- Kind: injectable
- Frequency: weekly
- Beginning dose: 2.5 mg in 0.5-mL liquid resolution for the primary 4 weeks
- Upkeep dose: 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, or 15 mg from week 5 (primarily based on remedy response and drug tolerance)
- Efficacy findings:
- Manufactured-sponsored SURMOUNT-3 trial: whole imply weight lack of 26.6% over 84 weeks
- Manufactured-sponsored SURMOUNT-4 trial: whole imply weight lack of 26% over 88 weeks
3. Have in mind their potential uncomfortable side effects
GLP-1 agonists include a protracted listing of potential opposed results resembling:
- Digestive system: abdomen ache, nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, heartburn, indigestion, flatulence, bloating, belching, and gastroesophageal reflux
- Nervous system: headache, dizziness, fatigue, temper modifications, and suicidal conduct or ideation
- Low blood sugar and diabetic retinopathy in individuals with diabetes
- Allergic reactions
- Drug interactions
- Coronary heart price modifications
- Gall stones
- Pancreatitis
- Kidney harm
- Elevated threat of thyroid most cancers
Based on heart specialist and MyFitnessPal scientific advisor Danielle Belardo, MD, most gut-related uncomfortable side effects will be resolved by way of dietary modifications like consuming smaller meals, rising fiber consumption, and staying hydrated.
Enjoyable Truth: MyFitnessPal gives a FREE 7-day GLP-1 Diet Plan, made in collaboration with consultants from our scientific advisory board. Study extra!
4. Perceive the insurance coverage protection of those medication
Insurance coverage protection for GLP-1 agonists like semaglutide relies on a number of components, resembling the kind of medicine, plan, supplier, and well being situation.
GLP-1s are generally lined by insurance coverage, however provided that deemed medically crucial. For instance, some suppliers cowl them in the event that they’re used to deal with kind 2 diabetes.
Medicare doesn’t cowl these medication for weight reduction, however in some states, Medicaid does.
Make sure you test together with your supplier earlier than beginning this drug. Some plans might require prior authorization or a documented prognosis. You might also want to fulfill sure well being standards or pay some copayment quantity.
Wegovy and Saxenda price $1,349.02 per month-to-month bundle.
Zepbound prices round $1,059.87 monthly.
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly (the producers) provide financial savings applications for individuals with out insurance coverage protection.
With this, it can save you round $500 a month for a four-week provide of Wegovy or Zepbound. Based on the corporate, most individuals with business protection for this drug pay lower than $25 monthly.
5. Know the weight problems remedy options to GLP-1
Listed here are some methods for weight administration if GLP-1s aren’t for you:
- Go for home-cooked as a substitute of ultra-processed meals.
- Make small, sustainable modifications to diet.
- Add extra protein and fiber to your weight loss plan.
- Lower down on high-sugar drinks. Drink extra plain water as a substitute.
- Be certain to get sufficient, high-quality sleep.
- Transfer your physique extra — whether or not it’s by way of train, taking a stroll, and even doing chores.
- In excessive instances, think about different weight reduction therapies like surgical procedure or medicines that trigger weight reduction (like phentermine).
- Search recommendation from professionals like a registered dietician, psychologist, endocrinologist, or bodily therapist to obtain personalized care tailor-made to your wants.
6. Have in mind the utmost remedy length for GLP-1
Analysis reveals that folks achieve round two-thirds of their misplaced weight again inside a yr after stopping GLP-1 dietary supplements. So, these medication is probably not your best option for long-term weight reduction.
Weight problems is taken into account a continual situation. Medication like GLP-1s suppress cravings, enhance insulin sensitivity, and mute obesity-promoting pathways within the physique. However these results will be reversed as soon as the drug is stopped.
Briefly, GLP-1s can be utilized for the remedy of weight problems however can not remedy it utterly. That’s why you want to be mentally ready to be on GLP-1s doubtlessly for all times for those who want to obtain everlasting advantages.
The Backside Line: GLP-1s Aren’t Proper for Everybody
Choosing the proper drug depends on many components like your well being standing, drug tolerance, price range, and insurance coverage protection. Converse to your well being care supplier earlier than beginning any medicines.
On the finish of the day, weight loss plan and train are simply as essential in a profitable weight reduction journey. For a simple begin, introduce small modifications like planning your meals, monitoring your energy, or creating an train routine.
