From ‘curing’ snoring to warding off dementia – all the surprising ways weight-loss jabs can BOOST your health
IT’S impossible to escape the hype around weight-loss jabs.
Whether that be the wild before-and-after pictures flooding social media.
Or the feral gossip that follows everytime a celebrity posts a picture of themselves appearing to look slimmer than before.
And now, we’re being faced with a barrage of studies claiming the jabs might be good for more than just shedding the pounds.
It was only a few weeks ago that scientists at the drug maker Eli Lilly claimed its fat jab could help ‘cure’ snoring, for example.
The jabs work by mimicking a hormone called GLP-1, which is normally released after eating.
This makes people feel full and reduces their appetite.
Over the last few years, several medicines containing synthetic hormones have become available in the UK.
Ozempic – whose active ingredient is semaglutide – is prescribed to treat type 2 diabetes and has the added benefit of making users lose weight.
Its manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, released a higher dose of semaglutide under the brand name Wegovy to treat obesity, which was rolled out in the UK last year.
The Mounjaro KwikPen, which contains tirzepatide, has been approved by UK regulators as a diabetes and weight loss treatment.
Another is liraglutide, which is prescribed on the NHS as Saxenda to tackle obesity,
So, here are all the other benefits scientists are claiming the jabs might have.
It might cure snoring…
Researchers say the fat-blasting jabs can silence snoring by treating an underlying health condition called sleep apnoea.
It happens when your breathing stops and starts while you are asleep, causing them to gasp, snore and wake up spluttering during the night.
Around 10million Brits are thought to have it, according to the Sleep Apnoea Trust.
Being overweight or obese can increase a person’s risk of the condition by narrowing the airways.
After conducting two studies on adults with obesity and sleep apnoea, drug maker Eli Lilly claimed its fat jab Mounjaro could cut down the number of times people had breathing issues during the night.
After 52 weeks, those given 10-15 mg injections of Mounjaro, on average, experienced almost 30 fewer dangerous breathing events per hour, amounting to a 55 per cent drop.
By contrast, participants taking a placebo medication only had 4.8 fewer events, a five per cent reduction.
At the same time, those taking he weight loss drug also shed about 18 per cent of their body weight, which the pharma giant could have said is directly behind the reduction in nighttime disturbances.
It may ward off Alzheimer’s…
Medications like Ozempic and Wegovy could affect cognitive disorders and even ward off Alzheimer’s.
The thought stems from a Danish study that followed people with type 2 diabetes for five years.
The scientists found those on weight loss jabs were less likely to develop dementia compared to those not on the drug.
However, obesity – which is associated with type 2 diabetes – is already known to increase the risk of Alzheimer’s, according to the Alzheimer’s Society.
This suggests it could just be the slimming effects that give it benefits against the disease.
More than 600,000 people in the UK have Alzheimer’s disease, the number one cause of dementia.
It is a brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks.
Two trials which started in 2021 are assessing the effects of semaglutide versus placebo in people with early stages of the disease.
However, since the disease takes a long time to take hold, the results are not expected until after 2026.
In the meantime, there are lifestyle changes you can make to reduce your risk of developing the condition.
These include keeping active, eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and quitting smoking.
It could boost your fertility…
Some women have reportedly become pregnant unexpectedly after taking semaglutide jabs.
This has led to some doctors in the US prescribing the medicine to treat polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), one of the leading causes of infertility in women.
Many people with the condition are overweight and found to have higher levels of testosterone, which is usually thought of as a ‘male hormone’.
Researchers reckon weight loss drugs could help regulate hormones in people with PCOS and so reduce symptoms and complications.
A study involving 27 obese patients diagnosed with PCOS found that after six months of taking semaglutide, they lost an average of 25lbs (11.5kg) and had more regular periods, suggesting their PCOS was improving.
Another, carried out by the Women’s Hospital in Los Angeles, found that liraglutide – the active ingredient in Victoza and Saxenda – significantly reduced testosterone levels.
However, British scientists have recently warned these jabs could cause birth defects and should not be taken within two months of trying to conceive.
Weight loss, on the whole, can increase fertility because being overweight can interfere with hormone levels.
But semaglutide has never been tested on pregnant women, so we don’t know how it would affect them or their babies.
It might slow down ageing…
As people get older, they tend to shed muscle and gain body fat, which feeds into conditions often seen in older adults, such as frailty and loss of muscle mass and strength.
There are some trials happening now which are looking into whether drugs such as semaglutide can slow this process down.
Dr Tiffany Cortes, of the University of Texas, is running one such trial.
She said the hope was that the ingredients used in fat jabs could help older people regain physical function, whether through direct weight loss or other means.
While fat jabs might keep your body looking young, they might have the opposite effect on the face.
Users have been sharing their experiences of side effects dubbed ‘Ozempic face‘ – a term used to describe the gaunt look caused by the skin losing collagen after major weight loss.
It might help people give up drugs, cigarettes or booze…
As it turns out, weight loss jabs can crush drug cravings in the same way they stop the urge to eat.
The jabs are known to promote feelings of fullness and, it seems, dampen the reward associated not only with food but also drugs.
A Penn University study found liraglutide was as good as a fortnight in rehab for people addicted to painkillers.
Tests on 20 people recovering from opioid addictions revealed patients who took the jabs once a day rated cravings 40 per cent lower than those having rehab.
While some patients experienced no cravings at all.
And earlier studies on rodents suggested the treatment could also work for nicotine and cocaine addiction.
Other scientists are looking into its effects on alcohol addiction.
The idea came about after people given GLP-1 drugs for diabetes reported reductions in their booze consumption.
It can reduce your chance of heart attack or stroke…
The skinny jab could also cut your risk of a heart attack, according to researchers.
Being a healthy weight can slash your risk of developing heart and circulatory diseases like strokes and vascular dementia.
That’s because carrying excess weight can lead to fatty substances building up in your arteries, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) warns.
If an artery that’s job is to carry blood to the heart gets clogged it can trigger a heart attack.
And if the same thing happens in an artery carrying blood to the brain, this can cause a stroke.
So, perhaps it is hardly surprising that injections that can help you lose weight might also reduce your risk of cardiovascular problems.
One study found getting 2.4mg injections of semaglutide like Wegovy a week could reduce the risk of ‘major adverse cardiovascular events’ by 20 per cent.
That’s according to a piece of research conducted by the drugs maker Novo Nordisk, which makes Wegovy.
The 2023 study involved 17,604 adults over 45 who were overweight or obese with cardiovascular disease and no history of diabetes.
The participants were split into two groups. One group was given the Wegovy injection, while the other received the placebo.
It might be able to slow down Parkinson’s…
For decades there have been few advancements in the battle against Parkinson’s.
But this month, French researchers reported the first glimmer of hope – a modest slowing of the disease in a one-year study among people who used the weight-loss jabs.
Parkinson’s is a devastating nervous system disorder affecting 10 million people worldwide, with no current cure.
Symptoms include tremors, slowness and stiffness, and difficulty with balance.
That can lead to difficulty walking, talking and swallowing. Many patients develop dementia.
The paper, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, involved 156 people with early Parkinson’s disease who were randomly assigned to take the drug — lixisenatide -or a placebo and followed for a year.
During that time, Parkinson’s symptoms like tremor, stiffness, slowness and balance worsened in those taking the placebo but not in those taking the drug.
The effect was “modest” according to the researchers.
However, this may just be because Parkinson’s disease worsens slowly, and with another year of follow-up, the differences might become much bigger, they added.
Studies have repeatedly found that people with type 2 diabetes are at increased risk for Parkinson’s disease.
However, that increased risk declines in those who take a GLP-1 drug to treat their diabetes.
According to Parkinson’s UK, diabetes drugs like lixisenatide are being scrutinised by scientists for treating Parkinson’s because GLP-1 receptors are also found in the brain.
Previous experiments have found that activating them could boost dopamine, have anti-inflammatory properties, improve energy production, and switch on cell survival signals.
Lixisenatide is the second diabetes drug to go through clinical trials for Parkinson’s, the first being exenatide.
Everything you need to know about fat jabs
HERE'S what you should know about Ozempic, Wegovy, Saxenda and Mounjaro.
Weight loss jabs are a hot media topic at the moment, with hundreds of success stories sharing how they helped them shed the pounds.
In March 2023, the NHS announced it would make Wegovy, a drug made by Danish firm Novo Nordisk, available on prescription to thousands of obese Brits.
It contains the drug semaglutide, which is said to have helped reality star Kim Kardashian and Twitter boss Elon Musk lose weight.
Wegovy, which helped a third of people reduce their weight by 20 per cent in trials, is now available from pharmacies like Boots.
How do they work?
The jabs work by suppressing your appetite, making you eat less calories and therefore lose weight.
To do this, an ingredient found in the fat-busting drug, known as Semaglutide, mimics the role of a natural hormone, called GLP-1.
GLP-1 is part of the signalling pathway that tells your body you have eaten, and prepares it to use the energy that comes from your food.
London GP and founder of wellgoodwellbeing.com, Dr Zoe Watson, said: “Your body naturally produces an appetite regulating hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1.
“These jabs work by regulating your appetite, which can lead to eating fewer calories and losing weight.”
Aren’t they diabetes drugs?
Semaglutide, the active drug in Wegovy, was originally sold under the name Ozempic specifically for diabetes patients.
But they started noticing it helped suppress their appetites, stopping them eating as much and helping them shed the pounds.
So Novo Nordisk developed Wegovy, which contains the same chemical but at higher doses specifically to aid weight loss.
Wegovy is not prescribed for diabetes patients.
Can I get them?
Wegovy is offered on prescription to obese adults given specialist weight loss treatment.
The NHS currently also offers a similar drug called Saxenda, or liraglutide.
Both are only available on Tier 3 and Tier 4 weight management services, which means you have to be referred to weight management clinics led by experts.
GPs can’t prescribe them on their own either, Dr Watson said.
The jabs have to be taken as part of an overall programme to help with lifestyle changes and psychological support to get the best effect from the medication prescribed.
But despite being approved for use, supply of Wegovy on the NHS has been postponed indefinitely because of a surge in worldwide demand.
Supply was also halved in the US because of the skyrocketing demand.
Are there any risks?
Like all medicines, the jabs do not come without side effects.
Around half of people taking the drug experience gut issues, including sickness, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhoea.
Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical consultant at patient.info, said: “One of the more uncommon side effects is severe acute pancreatitis, which is extremely painful and happens to one in 500 people.”
Other uncommon side effects include altered taste, kidney problems, allergic reactions, thyroid tumours, gallbladder problems and hypoglycemia.
What other options are there?
Mounjaro (brand name for tirzepatide) also came onto the market in early 2024.
Like Wegovy, tirzepatide stems from a drug originally designed to treat diabetes.
The weekly injection helped overweight people drop more than two stone in 18 months.
It is available with to order with a prescription online from pharmacies including Superdrug and LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor.
It works in a similar way to Wegovy and Saxenda, but is more effective.
Dr Mitra Dutt from LloydsPharmacy says: “Based on clinical trials, 96 per cent of people were able to lose more than five per cent of their body fat using Mounjaro. In similar trials, 84 per cent of people lost more than five per cent of their body weight on Wegovy, and 60 per cent on Saxenda.
“Mounjaro works by activating two hormonal receptors (GIP and GLP-1), which enhance insulin production, improve insulin sensitivity, and work to decrease food intake.”