Sort 2 diabetes is among the most typical and well-studied trendy illnesses. So, new medicines to fight this situation are consistently being developed.

One such kind of treatment known as a glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) agonist. These meds have grow to be more and more widespread lately as a result of despite the fact that GLP-1 receptor agonists have been initially developed to deal with kind 2 diabetes, they started to indicate a really promising profit: vital weight reduction. 

Should you suppose you’re a candidate for one among these medicines, learn on to study every thing you should learn about GLP-1 agonists for weight reduction, how they work, who ought to take them, their unwanted 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 effectively anymore, the sugar stays within the blood, and also you develop kind 2 diabetes.

This is the reason folks with diabetes have higher-than-normal blood sugar ranges. It’s additionally why most diabetes medicines (together with GLP-1 agonists) are focused in the 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 of us with diabetes), your physique sends out the GLP-1 hormone to choose up the slack.

When scientists found this good transfer, they got here up with a solution to mimic the physique’s actions. Thus, GLP-1 agonists have been developed. 

An agonist is any manufactured substance (like a drug or treatment) 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 normally produced within the small gut. It has a four-fold messenger motion:

1. It tells the pancreas to extend insulin secretion to handle your blood sugar ranges correctly.
2. It additionally tells the pancreas to not launch hormones like glucagon, which might transfer glucose from different storage locations (just like the liver) into the bloodstream.
3. 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.
4. It tells your mind that you simply’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 closing motion has caught the attention of most people and has pushed GLP-1 agonists—probably the most well-known being semaglutide—into the limelight, even amongst folks with out diabetes.

GLP-1 agonists can lower your urge for food and maintain you feeling full on a regular basis. They might allow you to shed weight, particularly for those who discover portion management difficult.

Does this imply anybody can take GLP-1 medicine to shed weight? 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 have been first authorised to be used as kind 2 diabetes treatment by the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2005. These medicine are normally accessible in a liquid kind, together with a needle and syringe. 

You must inject them into the fatty tissue below your pores and skin. The most typical injection website is the stomach, adopted by the outer thighs, higher buttocks, and the backs of your arms.

These medicine are normally really helpful solely after safer and extra standard strategies like food regimen and train have failed to provide the specified outcomes.

Even then, GLP-1 agonists aren’t miracle medicine 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 medicine

To profit from GLP-1 agonist medicine, your physique mass index ought to both be 30 or increased or be 27 or increased 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

In accordance with MyFitnessPal’s registered dietician, Stephanie Nelson, you will need to seek the advice of your well being care supplier earlier than beginning this treatment. It’s because taking any treatment comes with sure dangers and attainable unwanted effects. A great well being care supplier will allow you to weigh the dangers you face by taking the treatment versus the dangers of not taking it.

They’ll additionally issue within the well being advantages you’ll obtain by taking the treatment. These medicine 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 increased threat of growing diabetes or coronary heart illness. 

However for those who’re NOT at well being threat, then these medicine aren’t really helpful for you as a result of they put you at pointless threat of unwanted effects.

You additionally shouldn’t take GLP-1s if:

• You’ve a private or household historical past of thyroid most cancers, as they enhance the danger of thyroid most cancers.
• You’re pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning to get pregnant.
• You’ve extreme bowel illness.
• You’re allergic/delicate to semaglutide.
• You’ve a previous or lively consuming dysfunction.

One other factor to think about when choosing GLP-1s is the affect of those medicine in your meals consumption.  

For instance, GLP-1s affect 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 position your mind performs in weight problems. 

However it is a double-edged sword since you nonetheless should be aware and conscious 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 should keep disciplined about making nutritious meals selections and monitoring your energy to stop malnutrition and obtain wholesome weight reduction.

2. Know the GLP-1 medicine accessible and their effectiveness

Many GLP-1 medicines can be found on the U.S. market. Nonetheless, solely the next three are at the moment authorised by the FDA to be used as weight-loss medicine: 

Semaglutide (Wegovy)

• Sort: injectable
• Frequency: weekly 
• Beginning dose: 0.25 to 1.7 mg for the primary 16 weeks 
• Upkeep dose: 2.4 mg
• Efficacy findings:
  1. Producer-sponsored research of 803 and 1,961 folks: common lower in physique weight of seven.9% and 14.9%, respectively, with smaller waists and decrease whole levels of cholesterol, systolic blood stress, and triglycerides
  2. Analysis assessment 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
• Sort: injectable
• Frequency: weekly 
• Beginning dose: 2.5 mg in 0.5-mL liquid answer for the primary 4 weeks 
• Upkeep dose: 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, or 15 mg from week 5 (based mostly on therapy response and drug tolerance) 
• Efficacy findings:
  1. Manufactured-sponsored SURMOUNT-3 trial: whole imply weight lack of 26.6% over 84 weeks
  2. Manufactured-sponsored SURMOUNT-4 trial: whole imply weight lack of 26% over 88 weeks

3. Take note their potential unwanted effects

GLP-1 agonists include a protracted checklist of potential opposed results reminiscent of:

1. Digestive system: abdomen ache, nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, heartburn, indigestion, flatulence, bloating, belching, and gastroesophageal reflux
2. Nervous system: headache, dizziness, fatigue, temper modifications, and suicidal habits or ideation
3. Low blood sugar and diabetic retinopathy in folks with diabetes
4. Allergic reactions
5. Drug interactions
6. Coronary heart price modifications
7. Gall stones
8. Pancreatitis 
9. Kidney injury
10. Elevated threat of thyroid most cancers

In accordance with heart specialist and MyFitnessPal scientific advisor Danielle Belardo, MD, most gut-related unwanted effects could be resolved by way of dietary modifications like consuming smaller meals, growing fiber consumption, and staying hydrated.

Enjoyable Reality: MyFitnessPal affords a FREE 7-day GLP-1 Vitamin Plan, made in collaboration with consultants from our scientific advisory board. Study extra!

4. Perceive the insurance coverage protection of those medicine

Insurance coverage protection for GLP-1 agonists like semaglutide will depend on a number of elements, reminiscent of the kind of treatment, plan, supplier, and well being situation.

GLP-1s are generally coated by insurance coverage, however provided that deemed medically essential. For instance, some suppliers cowl them in the event that they’re used to deal with kind 2 diabetes.

Medicare doesn’t cowl these medicine for weight reduction, however in some states, Medicaid does.

Be sure you test together with your supplier earlier than beginning this drug. Some plans might require prior authorization or a documented analysis. You may additionally want to satisfy sure well being standards or pay some copayment quantity.

Wegovy and Saxenda value $1,349.02 per month-to-month package deal.

Zepbound prices round $1,059.87 per 30 days.

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly (the producers) supply financial savings applications for folks with out insurance coverage protection.

With this, it can save you round $500 a month for a four-week provide of Wegovy or Zepbound. In accordance with the corporate, most individuals with industrial protection for this drug pay lower than $25 per 30 days.

5. Know the weight problems therapy options to GLP-1

Listed below 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 food regimen.
• Reduce down on high-sugar drinks. Drink extra plain water as a substitute.
• Ensure that to get satisfactory, 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 custom-made care tailor-made to your wants.

6. Take note the utmost therapy length for GLP-1

Analysis reveals that folks acquire round two-thirds of their misplaced weight again inside a yr after stopping GLP-1 dietary supplements. So, these medicine is probably not your most suitable option for long-term weight reduction. 

Weight problems is taken into account a persistent situation. Medication like GLP-1s suppress cravings, enhance insulin sensitivity, and mute obesity-promoting pathways within the physique. However these results could be reversed as soon as the drug is stopped. 

In brief, GLP-1s can be utilized for the therapy of weight problems however can not treatment it fully. That’s why you should be mentally ready to be on GLP-1s probably for all times for those who want to obtain everlasting advantages.

The Backside Line: GLP-1s Aren’t Proper for Everybody 

Selecting the best drug depends on many elements like your well being standing, drug tolerance, funds, and insurance coverage protection. Communicate to your well being care supplier earlier than beginning any medicines. 

On the finish of the day, food regimen and train are simply as essential in a profitable weight reduction journey. For a straightforward begin, introduce small modifications like planning your meals, monitoring your energy, or creating an train routine.