For the first time since 2014, the FDA approved a new treatment for chronic weight management. It’s called Wegovy™, a brand-name prescription drug.
What Is Wegovy?
It’s a weekly injection approved for overweight adults who struggle with high blood pressure, Type 2 Diabetes, or high cholesterol and obesity. If your body mass index (BMI) is 30 kg/m2 or greater, or if you are overweight (body mass index ≥27), you could benefit from Wegovy!
You take the injection at the same time on the same day every week. The time and day can be whatever is most convenient to you as long as it is the same every week. That said, you can still change the day of the week if you need to, as long as the last dose was two or more days before.
How Does it Work?
It works by chemically convincing your brain that you’re full. This leaves patients with a decreased appetite while not feeling starved. Unlike many weight management drugs, Wegovy doesn’t make you feel jittery. Additionally, it’s safe for people with hypertension. While some adverse side effects are associated with taking the treatment, they’re generally mild. They affect the GI tract and could include diarrhea, nausea, or constipation. But overall, the drug is tolerated well.
Approximately 70% of Americans are considered obese; thus, Wegovy can and will save lives. From the clinical trial data, Wegovy works better for treating obesity compared to other drugs. The drug works by “mimicking a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) that targets areas of the brain that regulate appetite and food intake”.
Many studies prove the drug to be a safe and effective way to lose weight. In one of Wegovy’s trials, 33% of the patients lost more than 20% of their body fat in a 68-week clinical trial period. Losing that amount of body fat is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease for overweight or obese adult patients.
Where Did Wegovy Come From?
A Danish company, Novo Nordisk, is pivoting from diabetes treatments to weight loss treatments to address the global obesity epidemic. Although other companies have tried to come to market with weight loss solutions, many fell short because they were risky or disappointing. Wegovy was well received in this climate. So much so, in fact, that Novo’s obesity drug revenue increased by 41% in the third quarter of 2021.
Melamed Weight & Wellness Offers Wegovy
Wegovy might be the long-term weight management solution for you! Do you feel like you could benefit from this weekly injection? Schedule a consultation with Doctor Melamed to see if Wegovy is a good fit.