WASHINGTON, DC – April 12, 2023 – Two pharmaceutical companies have manufactured new drugs to control diabetes and each one has been modified for weight loss. Novo Nordisk developed Ozempic, (with the active ingredient semiglutide), to treat diabetes. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it in 2017. However, rapid weight loss after taking the medicine dramatically increased its popularity. Therefore, Novo Nordisk developed another medicine with semiglutide, called Wegovy, to treat obesity. The FDA approved the drug in 2021. Last year the FDA approved the Eli Lilly medicine Mounjaro (with the active ingredient tirzepatide) to control diabetes. Last month, the FDA approved the Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide weight-loss drug Zepbound. Obese patients can lose between 15-20% of their body weight taking these medicines. The weight loss drugs are recommended for patients who are obese, with a Body Mass Index (BMI) at 30 or greater, or overweight, with a BMI greater than or equal to 27 and with at least one weight-related medical problem. Most people will have to take the drugs their entire life or they will gain their weight back. The weight-loss medicines should be used in combination with regular exercise and a low-calorie diet.
These new diabetic and weight-loss drugs may be the answer to the obesity epidemic in the United States. More than 40% of Americans, 100 million adults and 15 million children, are obese, putting them at risk for the development of high blood pressure, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.
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Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]
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