©UKF

Support for long-term weight loss is now offered by new medications that are very effective and well tolerated.

Overweight and obesity are on the rise worldwide. Obesity is now considered a chronic disease and is the cause of many complications and secondary diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, high blood lipid levels, hypertension and vascular diseases (heart attacks and strokes), orthopedic diseases (hip and knee osteoarthritis), as well as cancers.

Findings in recent years have shown that a drastic reduction in these complications and secondary diseases can be achieved by permanent weight reduction. Various treatment approaches are available for this purpose. First, diet therapy and exercise therapy are used. However, diet and exercise measures are very difficult to implement permanently in everyday life and for this reason usually do not bring about sufficient weight reductions in the long run. In cases of severe obesity, bariatric surgery with gastric bypass and stomach reduction are used. Although these result in a significant and long-lasting weight reduction, they represent intrusive measures with considerable side effects.

New medication offers support

Support for long-term weight loss is now offered by new medications that are very effective and well tolerated. Essentially, these are medications that patients can inject themselves under the skin once a week. They are derived from glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, and were originally developed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The use of these substances in the indication of type 2 diabetes has shown that they have potent, dose-dependent effects on the reduction of body weight in overweight persons, even independent of the presence of a glucose metabolic disorder. In addition, these medications have been shown in studies to reduce cardiovascular events. Subsequently, they have been further developed in higher doses for the treatment of obesity.

The drugs in question are:

• Semaglutide (Ozempic®, Wegovy®)
• Dulaglutide (Trulicity®)
• Tirzepatide (Mounjaro®)

These drugs cause an earlier feeling of satiety when eating and the body to utilize more energy.

Through the use of these medications, weight reductions of up to 20 % can be achieved, in individual cases even more. The drugs are well tolerated, major side effects that have occurred in 10-20 % are nausea and gastrointestinal complaints in the beginning, which, however, improve significantly in a few days and disappear completely. These drugs are injected under the skin by the patients 1 x/week. One starts with a low dose and increases the dose every 4 weeks up to a given final dose. The substance tirzepatide (Mounjaro®) promises the greatest weight reductions, but the other drugs are also highly effective. As a rule, a treatment period of 6-12 months is initially aimed at in order to achieve a good weight reduction. Depending on the extent of weight reduction, treatment can then be paused or continued.

Prof. Seufert, head of the Department of Endocrinology and Diabetology at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg, has many years of experience and a high level of expertise in the use of these medications. He promises that, "The use of these drugs will revolutionize the treatment of overweight and obesity, as well as type 2 diabetes mellitus worldwide and, for the first time, effectively help patients to reduce weight significantly and permanently."

Prof. Dr. med. Jochen Seufert

Please find more information here.