‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
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Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
#2That looks like a “one weird trick” headline.
Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
#3> After decades of work, researchers are finally seeing signs of success: a new generation of anti-obesity medications that drastically diminish weight without the serious side effects that have plagued previous efforts.
…
> Nutter is concerned that people might start these treatments — whose side effects, such as nausea and vomiting, can be severe — to escape weight stigma, rather than to serve a true health need
So the side effects aren’t “serious” — they’re just potentially “severe”? I’m confused.
Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
#4> The results astonished researchers: a weekly injection for almost 16 months, along with some lifestyle changes, reduced body weight by at least 20% in more than one-third of the participants
Why would they introduce lifestyle changes alongside the drug? Doesn't that complicate the analysis?
Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
#5> After decades of work, researchers are finally seeing signs of success: a new generation of anti-obesity medications that drastically diminish weight without the serious side effects that have plagued previous efforts. … > Nutter is concerned that people might start these treatments — whose side effects, such as nausea and vomiting, can be severe — to escape weight stigma, rather than to serve a true health need So…
They're substantially less severe (and reversible, and more controllable) than the "your heart might stop" ones of the past generation of weight loss meds. (For example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenfluramine/phentermine)
Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
#6Jesus christ, why is nature quoting a psychologist in an article about biology?
> However, some researchers worry that these drugs play into some societies’ obsession with being thin. Body size isn’t always a good predictor of health. “I’m really hesitant to be excited about something that I think is potentially harmful from a weight stigma perspective”
Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
#7> The results astonished researchers: a weekly injection for almost 16 months, along with some lifestyle changes, reduced body weight by at least 20% in more than one-third of the participants Why would they introduce lifestyle changes alongside the drug? Doesn't that complicate the analysis?
Probably assigned both arms to lifestyle changes, since we know those are beneficial. Assuming that's the case, then yes to your point, but also it's the right thing to do since there is no equipoise about lifestyle.
Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
#8> They described the details of an investigation of a promising anti-obesity medication in teenagers, a group that is notoriously resistant to such treatment. The results astonished researchers: a weekly injection for almost 16 months, along with some lifestyle changes, reduced body weight by at least 20% in more than one-third of the participants1. Previous studies2,3 had shown that the drug, semaglutide, was just as impressive in adults.
Two immediate thoughts:
How much of it was actually the lifestyle changes? It would be more interesting if there were no lifestyle changes...
This apparently works by suppressing appetite, but doesn't cocaine do the same thing? Constant needle marks from weekly injections might result in more social complications than anything else...
Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
#9> The results astonished researchers: a weekly injection for almost 16 months, along with some lifestyle changes, reduced body weight by at least 20% in more than one-third of the participants Why would they introduce lifestyle changes alongside the drug? Doesn't that complicate the analysis?
The control group will have been asked to make the same lifestyle changes, but with a placebo drug.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2032183
> Participants were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio, through the use of an interactive Web-based response system, to receive semaglutide at a dose of 2.4 mg administered subcutaneously once a week for 68 weeks or matching placebo, in addition to lifestyle intervention...
Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
#10> They described the details of an investigation of a promising anti-obesity medication in teenagers, a group that is notoriously resistant to such treatment. The results astonished researchers: a weekly injection for almost 16 months, along with some lifestyle changes, reduced body weight by at least 20% in more than one-third of the participants1. Previous studies2,3 had shown that the drug, semaglutide, was just a…
> How much of it was actually the lifestyle changes?
That's why the placebo group in the trial also gets the same lifestyle changes.
> This apparently works by suppressing appetite, but doesn't cocaine do the same thing?
Sure. If they were otherwise identical, that'd be a good point, but they're not.
> Constant needle marks from weekly injections might result in more social complications than anything else...
My daughter has to give herself growth hormone injections every day, and has for nearly a decade now. You don't get needle marks from these sorts of small dosage subcutaneous injection.