New study reveals popular weight loss drugs can dramatically lower risk of major health problem
Gerrard Kaonga
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images
While there is much talk about the dangers of weight loss drugs, a new study has highlighted one major benefit besides shedding the pounds.
Weight loss drugs have shot up in popularity in the last few years and there have been many reports and studies on the potential dangers and side effects. However, a new study has highlighted a key benefit of taking GLP-1 agonist drugs - such as Mounjaro, Wegovy, and Ozempic, which isn't actually approved by the FDA for weight loss - even if you don’t drop any major weight.
As the name would suggest, GLP-1 agonists are a type of treatment that mimics the hormone GLP-1.
This hormone helps manage blood sugar levels and can stabilise hunger, making it ideal for the treatment of Type-2 diabetes.
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In recent years, GLP-1 has been available as an injection pen that can be administered subcutaneously, typically on a weekly basis.
New research on these GLP-1 drugs, presented at the European Society of Cardiology annual conference back in August, showed that the use of these drugs could have major cardiovascular benefits.
US researchers from Mass General Brigham found that weight loss drugs could reduce the risk of people with heart conditions being hospitalized or dying early by as much as 58%.
The scientists and researchers involved in the study analyzed data from more than 90,000 heart failure patients who were obese and had Type-2 diabetes.
The results showed that the individuals who were taking semaglutide - the active ingredient in both Ozempic and Wegovy, as well as other GLP-1 drugs - were 42% less likely to end up in hospital or die prematurely.
According to a Mail Online report, British scientists have found similar results and came to the conclusion that taking these weight loss drugs could benefit a person’s heart health, regardless of how much weight they lose.
The researchers found that a loss of belly fat accounted for a third of semaglutide’s overall heart health benefits, and could ultimately have benefits for more than just obese patients.
Professor John Deanfield, an expert in cardiology at University College London and study lead author, said: “Abdominal fat is more dangerous for our cardiovascular health than overall weight.
“Therefore it is not surprising to see a link between reduction in waist size and cardiovascular benefit. However, this still leaves two thirds of the heart benefits of semaglutide unexplained. These findings reframe what we think this medication is doing.
“It is labelled as a weight loss jab but its benefits for the heart are not directly related to the amount of weight lost.
“In fact, it is a drug that directly affects heart disease and other diseases of ageing.”
He called for further research to get a wider understanding of why the drugs were having this impact on the heart.