In recent years, significant research has focused on other potential benefits of GLP-1 analogs, many of which may be due to their effects on BMI and obesity. there is.

Obese people are more likely to develop cancer and cardiovascular disease, and recent studies have shown that people using GLP-1 analogs may have a lower risk of both. However, it remains unclear whether this is due to weight loss or other effects of the drug.

said Dr. Mir Ali, bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California. Today’s medical news:

“As the use and popularity of these drugs increases, we will see more effects as people reach their weight loss goals. There are still concerns about weight gain after discontinuing these drugs. Therefore, further research is needed to understand the main reasons for weight gain.”

Research is now focused on further elucidating how these drugs work. A new review has been published. International Journal of Obesity They looked at the existing literature on the topic, how the studies were conducted, and how data on the use of GLP-1 analogs was collected.

To conduct the review, the authors searched PubMed for the terms “obesity,” “semaglutide,” “liraglutide,” and “GLP-1 analog.”

Like semaglutide, liraglutide (trade name Saxenda) is a GLP-1 analog.

Researchers note that most studies conducted on the effects of GLP-1 analogs on weight loss have focused on the initial weight loss phase, which tends to last 12 to 18 months for semaglutide users, rather than the maintenance phase during weight loss. I discovered what I was doing. After this there is a plateau.

So far, researchers understand that side effects such as stomach upset and nausea are more likely to occur at the beginning of treatment, but a review of the available literature suggests that weight loss is less likely in the early stages of drug use. It was suggested that it was not related to the initiation of treatment. nausea.

Although the drug’s effect on reducing food intake diminished over 12 to 18 months, a subsequent so-called maintenance phase found that users’ caloric intake was still more restricted than baseline.

In a review of studies that asked people using the drug about their food cravings and preferences, researchers found that they had an overall lower desire for dairy, starchy foods, and salty and spicy foods; It also indicated a particularly small amount of food. Foods that are high in fat and unsweetened.

However, the macronutrient profile of what people ate remained the same before and after starting the drug. It is not yet clear whether GLP-1 analogues lead to an increased desire for sweeter foods, especially those containing sucralose.

The authors found that in existing research, people using exenatide (brand name Byetta), another GLP-1 analogue, had reduced neural responses to pictures of food in the part of the brain that regulates appetite and reward. I discovered that it shows that This response was measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Studies have also shown that semaglutide does not penetrate the blood-brain barrier (the layer that “insulates” the brain and protects it from external factors).

Instead, this drug blocks signaling in parts of the central nervous system that are not behind the blood-brain barrier that can affect appetite.

Professor Alex Milas, a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Ulster in the UK and an expert on obesity, who was not involved in the review, said: MNT We found that our understanding of obesity and GLP-1 analogs is limited by the method of dietary data collected in these studies.

He noted that there can be inaccuracies in studies where data is self-reported by participants, and that the best way to confirm results is through observational studies, where the risk of inaccuracy is low. he claimed.

”I think the overall conclusion from this is something like this [paper] That said, there is evidence that drug treatments for obesity change food preferences in some people.” He said. “But if we want to find out, [out] Indeed, we should stop asking people what they do. […] If you actually observe what people do, you’ll get a solid answer. ”

“I have to observe people in research settings and clinical research settings, and it has to be as close to normal life as possible. But with that in mind, we have to make sure that these people We need to study how they behave, not what they say to us,” added Professor Miras.

Dr Ali, who was also not involved in the review, said an issue affecting much research in this area is that double-blind controlled studies “require significant time and financial investment” and small-scale He pointed out that this was the result of extensive research.

“Obesity is a multifactorial disease. Genetics, hormones, activity, environment, and socio-economic status all influence obesity. Therefore, no intervention will be effective for everyone who suffers from obesity, and it will be the most “This makes it difficult to find effective treatments,” he warned.