Janice R. Andrews
A new study shows that the famous weight loss drug Wegovy, which is allowed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat obesity, lowers the risk of heart problems by a large amount. Novo Nordisk, the company that makes the drug, paid for the study, which shows that Wegovy lowers the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death by heart disease by up to 44% in overweight or obese people who don’t have diabetes.
Over 17,000 people aged 45 and up from 41 countries took part in the study. All of them already had heart disease. The people who took Wegovy had a lot fewer heart problems over an average of 34 months. They also had better blood pressure and lost more weight than the people who took a dummy.
GLP-1 Receptor Agonists are the type of drug wegovy is. These drugs work by making the body make more insulin and dropping blood sugar. These medicines, which are all variations of semaglutide, help slow down the flow of food through the stomach. This makes you feel fuller and helps you lose weight.
Even though the results looked good, the study found that almost one-fifth of the people who took Wegovy had side effects that were bad enough that they had to stop taking the drug. Some of these side effects were problems with the heart, the digestive system, and the nervous system. Wegovy and other weight loss drugs often cause side effects like nausea and diarrhoea. Some users have also reported more serious health problems like liver and pancreatic disease.
Health workers say that people who are already worried about their health should talk to their doctor about the possible risks and side effects of Wegovy before starting to take it. As the number of people using weight loss drugs keeps going up, it is important for people to make smart choices about their health.
