Teenage obesity is a serious health issue that can have long-term consequences for both psychological and physical well-being. Causes of teenage weight problems can include genes, unhealthy eating practices, and lack of physical activity. It can cause a variety of health issues such as type 2 diabetes, heart illness, and high blood pressure.
A brand-new study released in the New England Journal of Medicine and provided at Obesity Week 2022 has discovered that the drug semaglutide is reliable in helping teenagers who are obese or obese reduce weight and enhance their cardiovascular health.
In an international phase 3a scientific trial, adolescents who took semaglutide when a week experienced a 16.1% decline in their body mass index (BMI), while those who took a placebo saw a boost of 0.6% in their BMI. Semaglutide is currently approved for usage in grownups with obesity or obese.
” Rates of weight problems are increasing, not simply in the U.S., but all over the world,” stated senior author Silva Arslanian, M.D., teacher of pediatrics and scientific and translational science and who holds the Richard L. Day Endowed Chair in Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “Typically, we make way of life recommendations: Eat more vegetables; do not consume fried food; do not drink soda. Unfortunately, we live in a very obesogenic environment, so it can be really difficult to make those changes. There is a real need for effective and safe medications to treat weight problems.”
Semaglutide is an obesity drug that simulates a hormonal agent called glucagon-like peptide-1 to target locations of the brain that reduce cravings and improve control of eating. In 2021, this drug was authorized for chronic weight management in grownups with weight problems or overweight.
To assess whether semaglutide is also effective in youths, researchers registered 201 teenagers aged in between 12 and 18 years with obesity or obese throughout numerous. Participants received either once-weekly subcutaneous injections of semaglutide 2.4 mg or placebo, and all received concurrent way of life intervention– counseling on healthy nutrition and exercise– throughout the trial.
After 68 weeks, 72.5% of semaglutide individuals had actually accomplished at least 5% weight reduction compared to simply 17% of those on placebo.
” The outcomes are remarkable,” said Arslanian, who is also director of the Pediatric Clinical and Translational Research Center and scientific director of the Center for Pediatric Research in Obesity and Metabolism at Pitt and UPMC Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh. “For a person who is 5 foot, 5 inches tall and weighs 240 pounds, the typical decrease in BMI equates to shedding about 40 pounds.”
Weight problems impacts almost one in five kids and adolescents worldwide. This persistent disease is linked with reduced life span and a greater danger of developing serious health issues such as type 2 diabetes, heart problem, nonalcoholic fatty liver illness, sleep apnea, and certain cancers. Teenagers with obesity are likewise more likely to have depression, stress and anxiety, bad self-esteem, and other psychological problems.
The analysis revealed that semaglutide participants had improvements in cardiovascular threat factors, consisting of waist area, a blood sugar metric called HbA1c, total, low-density, and extremely low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and liver enzymes compared to the placebo group. Nevertheless, there was no statistically significant difference in blood pressure or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in between the two groups.
Participants who took semaglutide also had better weight-related lifestyle procedures, mostly due to an increase in physical comfort scores, compared to their placebo peers. The researchers note that this is the first weight problems drug to be related to such quality-of-life improvements in teenagers.
Referral: “Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adolescents with Obesity” by Daniel Weghuber, M.D., Timothy Barrett, Ph.D., Margarita Barrientos-Pérez, M.D., Inge Gies, Ph.D., Dan Hesse, Ph.D., Ole K. Jeppesen, M.Sc., Aaron S. Kelly, Ph.D., Lucy D. Mastrandrea, M.D., Rasmus Sørrig, Ph.D. and Silva Arslanian, M.D. for the STEP TEENS Investigators, 15 December 2022, New England Journal of Medicine.DOI: 10.1056/ NEJMoa2208601.
The research study was funded by Novo Nordisk A/S, the manufacturer of the semaglutide brand name Wegovy ®.
Teenage weight problems is a severe health concern that can have long-lasting consequences for both physical and mental wellness. Causes of teenage weight problems can consist of genetics, unhealthy consuming routines, and absence of physical activity.” Rates of weight problems are increasing, not simply in the U.S., but all over the world,” said senior author Silva Arslanian, M.D., teacher of pediatrics and translational and medical science and who holds the Richard L. Day Endowed Chair in Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Obesity affects practically one in 5 teenagers and children worldwide.