Internet celebrity magic medicine "one shot to lose weight"? You may not know the misunderstandings of using semaglutide!

With the arrival of summer, people who want to lose weight are getting restless again. Semaglutide injection seems to have found a savior for obese people or slightly obese people, or even girls who just want to lose weight. It has become a "new Internet celebrity" and it is hard to get a shot. But people don't seem to fully understand it, and even have some misunderstandings.

Question 1 - Is semaglutide injection just a weight loss drug?

Medicine Baby Analysis

Semaglutide is a new long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analog that lowers blood sugar by stimulating insulin secretion and reducing glucagon secretion. It works by indirectly regulating the release of insulin. When blood sugar is high, it can promote the release of insulin and lower blood sugar; when blood sugar tends to normal, its effect of promoting insulin release disappears, so the risk of hypoglycemia is relatively low.

The initial approved indication for semaglutide injection is for blood sugar control in adult patients with type 2 diabetes: adult patients with type 2 diabetes whose blood sugar is still poorly controlled by metformin and/or sulfonylureas on the basis of diet control and exercise. Therefore, strictly speaking, it is a hypoglycemic drug, not a drug specifically for weight loss.

Question 2: Since semaglutide injection is a hypoglycemic drug, does that mean it cannot be used for weight loss?

Medicine Baby Analysis

In June 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved semaglutide injection for weight loss in obese adults with a BMI ≥ 30 kilograms/meter 2 (kg/m2) or overweight adults (BMI ≥ 27 kg/m2) with at least one weight-related disease (such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, or dyslipidemia).

Why can a hypoglycemic drug also be used for weight loss? This is because semaglutide can reduce patients' desire for food by suppressing appetite, making them less inclined to high-fat foods, regulating the hypothalamic feeding center to reduce food intake, increase satiety, inhibit gastric emptying, and reduce gastrointestinal motility, thereby achieving the goal of weight loss.

The results of the STEP 3a clinical trial published in the internationally renowned medical journal The Lancet in 2021 showed that semaglutide has an outstanding weight loss effect. The study involved more than 4,500 obese or overweight adult patients without type 2 diabetes. Obese patients treated with semaglutide lost an average of 17% to 18% of their body weight within 68 weeks, and it was safe and well tolerated.

The drug surpassed the weight loss effect of another previous "star product" liraglutide (average weight loss of 5% to 10%).

Question 3 – Ask a doctor to prescribe semaglutide injection for weight loss?

Medicine Baby Analysis

At present, semaglutide injection is not approved for weight loss in my country. This is because there is still a lack of data on the safety and effectiveness of the drug for weight loss in the Chinese population. Prescribing semaglutide for weight loss is an off-label use of the drug.

Moreover, although semaglutide is approved for weight loss in the United States, it is not a panacea. The U.S. drug instructions also show that it should be used in combination with a low-calorie diet and exercise. Therefore, do not blindly follow the trend of taking medicine.

Losing weight requires comprehensive consideration of multiple factors such as diet and exercise, and medication is only an auxiliary means. The most effective and safest way to lose weight is to "control your mouth and move your legs."