Editor's note: Season 9 of the podcast Chasing Life With Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores the intersection of weight and health. We'll explore a wide range of topics, including how to talk to kids about weight and myths surrounding menopause and weight gain.you can Listen to the season here.
Story highlights
These new drugs often quiet down “food noise,” or the chatter in your brain about food.
Wegovy and Zepbound are approved to treat obese patients
Ozempic and Munjaro are for people with type 2 diabetes
(CNN) — Dieting can sometimes feel like an American pastime. Even if you've never experienced the “joy” of dieting, it's almost certain that your best friend, baby sibling, aunt, or someone in your close family or friends has.
probably it's not a coincidence government statistics More than 30% of Americans are overweight and more than 42% are obese.a Related government research We found that nearly half of U.S. adults say they have tried to lose weight in the past 12 months. The top two strategies were to exercise and eat less, followed by eating more fruits, vegetables, and salads.
People want to lose weight to look better “now”. They also want to reduce their risk of disease and live longer and healthier lives. develop a serious health condition future.
But anyone who has ever gone on a diet knows that losing weight is hard, long-term weight loss requires constant effort, and can sometimes feel daunting or even impossible. You could say that.
A new class of drugs called glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists, or GLP-1, is taking the country by storm because it's thought to help people lose weight more easily. They often silence their “food noise,” or the chatter in their brains about food, which makes it very difficult to stick with these all-important lifestyle changes.
Their brand name became a household word overnight. Ozempic and Wegovy contain semaglutide as the active ingredient, while Mounjaro and Zepbound contain tirzepatide.
The podcast “Chasing Life With Dr. Sanjay Gupta” reveals the details of these new drugs and gives listeners a crash course in the new drugs. You can listen below.
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Drugs such as semaglutide and tirzepatide were originally developed for type 2 diabetes and work by mimicking hormones. Glucagon-like peptide 1which is released in the intestines when you eat.
From LinkedIn
Dr. Jorge Moreno, Assistant Professor, Yale School of Medicine
“This is a peptide secreted by our intestines that is typically very short-acting and is broken down very quickly by other enzymes in the body,” obesity specialist Dr. Jorge Moreno told CNN's Chasing. Speaking to Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Recent life podcast. Moreno, an assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine, works with patients seeking weight management.
GLP-1 is a nutrient-stimulating hormone that activates when you eat, telling your body that you've just eaten food, he explained. “(It) goes into an area of the brain that is the hypothalamus… and (it) says to your brain, 'You ate food, stop eating,'” he said.
These drugs bind to the same receptors as the GLP-1 hormone, but have a longer duration of action. “That's why they keep this mechanism working consistently,” Moreno said. “Essentially, they send satiety signals to the hypothalamus and reduce appetite.”
Both hormones and drugs also cause other effects, such as slowing the movement of food through the intestines and telling the body to release more insulin. Tirzepatide can also bind to receptors for other related hormones. It is called GIP for short.This makes it a little more powerful.
If you're considering starting one of these medications, Moreno recommends keeping these five facts in mind.
These drugs don't work for everyone
Currently, weight-loss versions of semaglutide (Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Zepbound) are approved to treat obese people, not people looking to lose a few pounds.
“Patients should be aware that these are treatments for a chronic condition known as obesity,” Moreno says. “I think it's important to recognize that obesity is a chronic disease that relapses and requires long-term treatment.”
He said Wegovy and Zepbound are “indicated,” in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's terminology, for use in people who have been diagnosed with obesity or have a BMI of 30 or higher. It is also indicated for people with a BMI of 27 or higher and a weight-related medical condition such as type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure. (Semaglutide, sold as Ozempic, and tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro, are indicated only for patients with type 2 diabetes.)
If you have not received these diagnoses, you may have: I'm having trouble getting my prescription filled.It goes without saying that you should get health insurance to cover the high costs.
These drugs are very effective in helping many people lose weight.they are bridging the gap between early weight loss drugsMoreno said this helps people lose 5% to 10% of their body weight on average, and he said bariatric surgery is an invasive procedure that helps people lose weight on average. It's about 25% to 30%.
“It's important to know that these drugs are effective,” Moreno says. “On average, with semaglutide, weight loss can average close to 15%. Tirzepatide has reached bariatric surgery levels of weight loss with nearly 21% weight loss.”
This class of drugs, GLP-1 receptor agonists, has been used to treat diabetes since 2005, so they have a relatively long track record of safety.
“It's also important to understand that these are safe drugs,” Moreno said. “Yes, like any other drug, these drugs have side effects. The most common in the patients I see are nausea, constipation, and acid reflux. Reflux esophagitis.
“Right now, rare side effects include things like pancreatitis, which is less than 1% of the time. Very rare, but inflammation of the pancreas,” he said. But as these drugs grow in popularity, “rare events occur,” he added. A little more clearly, Because there are more people using these drugs. ”
As with any chronic disease, treatment requires collaboration with your doctor.
“Just like diabetes and hypertension, obesity management requires close follow-up. This is not a one-time conversation with your doctor,” Moreno said.
He recommended monthly or bimonthly follow-ups. “He needs to assert himself,” he said. “This is a long-term strategy to help you, so you should definitely follow it closely.”
“One drug doesn't solve everything. One drug can't be 'it',” Moreno said, adding that these drugs are one element of a comprehensive plan to treat obesity. I pointed out that it was not too much.
“Lifestyle is still important,” he said. “It's time to start exercising. It's time to start changing your eating patterns to help you lose weight. … I think that's really something that patients should take up.””
We hope these five things help you understand how these new drugs work and what to keep in mind when taking them.Listen to the full episode here You can learn more.and next week Chasing Life Podcast When exploring the business side of these medicines.
