AVENTURA, Fla. – For the first time since 2014, the Food and Drug Administration has approved a new medication for chronic weight management in obese and overweight adults.
Sold under the name Wegovy, the once-a-week, under-the-skin injection helped participants in clinical trials lose up to 15% of their body weight compared to those who received a placebo.
“This is something to help patients get some momentum while they’re taking the medicine, to get nutrition counseling and diet counseling and continue exercise and by people losing weight and gaining momentum and gaining confidence then they can continue to take care of themselves properly,” said cardiologist Dr. Leonard Pianko.
Pianko said the actual drug in Wegovy has been used in lower doses for some time to treat people with diabetes.
There are some common side effects from the medication, and it carries the risk of thyroid C-cell tumors.
It should not be used by patients with a personal or family history of thyroid cancer and has not been studied in patients with a history of pancreatitis.
Diabetes study
A study funded by the National Institute Of Health found that the onset of Type-2 diabetes in youth can lead to serious complications by young adulthood.
Within 15 years of diagnosis, 60% of participants had at least one diabetes-related complication and nearly one-third had two or more complications.
Researchers said the findings underscore the importance of early, intensive treatment